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By The Washington Post | PUBLISHED: May 23, 2018 at 10:47 am | UPDATED: May 23, 2018 at 10:50 am By Christopher Ingraham | Washington Post Federal judges appointed by Republican presidents give black defendants sentences that are, on average, six to seven months longer than the sentences they give to similar white defendants, according to a new working paper from Alma Cohen and Crystal Yang of the Harvard Law School. That racial sentencing disparity is about twice as large as the one observed among judges appointed by Democrats, who give black defendants sentences that are three to four months longer than the sentences they give to white defendants with similar histories who commit similar crimes. Cohen and Yang estimate that differences between how Democratic and Republican judges treat black and non-black defendants account for 65 percent of the total racial sentencing gap observed at the federal level. To arrive at these numbers, Cohen and Yang examined over 500,000 sentences … [Read more...] about Sentencing study finds race, political connections

IntroductionThe passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Bill”) represents the most ambitious and thorough regulatory reform of the laws governing the financial industry since the Great Depression. The Bill touches every domestic financial entity and affects most foreign financial entities. While most of the Bill’s provisions are aimed at large, complex financial institutions, smaller institutions are affected by many of the regulatory changes as well. As many of the Bill’s provisions give a basic structure of reform and leave the regulators to fill in the details over the next 6 to 18 months, the process of implementing the Bill’s provisions promises to be a dynamic one. Consequently, the final shape and practical impact of the Bill are still years from being understood.The following is an overview of the Bill as passed by Congress. In the coming weeks, we plan to focus on specific areas of legislation that are of … [Read more...] about Dodd-Frank Bill Reshapes Businesses

I. IntroductionThe timing of an alien’s admission to the United States is an important one under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“Act” or “INA”).1 Since the enactment of Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA)2 the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA or Board) and the federal circuit courts have faced a recurring question as to the proper interpretation of the Act’s removability statutes. The knot in this interpretation question comes from Congress’ implementation of the term “admission” as a substitution for the previously used language of “entry”.3 The pre-IIRIRA term of “entry” was defined as any unrestrained crossing of the United States border.4 While IIRIRA substitution language defines “admission” and admitted to mean the lawful entry of the alien to the United States after inspection and authorization by an Immigration Officer.5In light of the … [Read more...] about Not All “Entries” Are Equal – The Law of “Entry” and “Admission” for Purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) was passed in response to federal investigations of American companies that collectively were making millions of dollars in bribes to various foreign government officials. As a result, the FCPA prohibits companies and individuals from offering or making payments to any foreign official with the purpose of inducing the recipient to misuse his official position by directing business to or maintaining business with the payor.The FCPA’s purpose and goals remain as true and necessary today as they were over 30 years ago when they were first enacted into law. Federal law needs to prevent and prohibit unethical bribes to foreign officials. What has changed in the past 30 years, however, is the federal government’s enforcement of the law. In the past few years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has increased dramatically the number of investigations and enforcement actions under the FCPA, creating what DOJ calls “a new era of … [Read more...] about Why The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is Hurting Our Businesses and Needs to be Reformed

On May 17, 2011, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed Senate Bill No. 782 into law, thereby making Texas the fifth state to adopt a version of the 2010 uniform amendments to the 1998 version of Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (“Revised Uniform Article 9”).Revised Uniform Article 9, which became effective in Texas and most other states in July of 2001, and is codified in Texas Chapter 9 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code (“Texas Chapter 9”), has been the subject of various amendments in Texas and other states since its enactment. The 2010 uniform amendments (the “NCCUSL Amendments”), which were promulgated by the Uniform Law Commission (also known as the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws or “NCCUSL”) and the American Law Institute, are, however, the first uniform, and the most extensive, amendments proposed since Revised Uniform Article 9 was adopted.The NCCUSL Amendments are largely technical in nature, … [Read more...] about Amendments to Chapter 9 of the Texas UCC