Since United States Watts Federal district courts have used acquitted conduct at sentencing to increase the guidelines of a federal defendant over the objection of a federal criminal defense attorney. Soon, the doctrine will be eviscerated either by the Supreme Court of the United States or the United States Sentencing Commission or both.

Banks created a boneheaded fraud scheme that was unsuccessful. This didn’t stop the government from securing a 104 month sentence based on his “intended” amount of fraud. The 3rd Circuit disagreed with the Government finding that the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines clearly relate to the “actual” loss and not the intended loss.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the improper handling of classified records by President Joe Biden. Robert Hur was appointed to investigate the existence of records at Biden’s office and his home. Donald Trump is also under Special Counsel investigation for the same conduct after the DOJ found 184 records in his Florida Home.

The 11th circuit issued its opinion on remand in Ruan v. United States and determined that the jury instructions were not sufficient to advise the jury of the requirement that a physician subjectively believe that he or she unlawfully distributed narcotics.

Dr. Lesly Pompy was acquitted of unlawful distribution and $16 million in healthcare fraud after facing a federal investigation for nearly five years. Federal criminal defense attorney Ronald W. Chapman II secured victory after over a month long federal trial in the Eastern District of Michigan. This was Ron’s second back-to-back full acquittal against the US Attorney’s office in Detroit.

Celebrity endorsers of FTX are now facing investigations and lawsuits related to their promotion of the now defunct exchange.

Andre Thomas will be put to death after being convicted by an all white jury and being denied his sixth amendment right to effective assistance of counsel. Thomas appealed to the Supreme Court alleging that his counsel was ineffective for failing to strike the racially biased jurors who opposed inter-racial marriage.

The Supreme Court will hear Ciminelli v. United States this term. Ciminelli is a case in which the Supreme Court will determine if the federal wire fraud statute is violated where the victim is deprived of the right to control assets.

President Biden announced a three step plan for addressing prior marijuana convictions. Federal Defense Blog answers your burning questions about this development.

Federal forfeiture and seizure in federal drug prosecutions is the quickest way for federal prosecutors to secure victory before the case starts. Federal drug seizure and forfeiture laws permit nearly unfettered seizure of property. This article describes how to fight back.

Ruan v. United States was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court increasing the standard needed to convict physicians of unlawful prescribing. Three months post Ruan, we are seeing a mixed bag of District Court decisions. Here is a breakdown of these trial court and appellate decisions.

A Puerto Rico physician was cleared of healthcare fraud charges after prosecutors dismissed charges before trial fearing an acquittal. Ronald Chapman II and Safe Harbor Group were responsible for the victory. The client is cleared and has returned back to practice as an emergency department physician.

On the heels of the recent decision in Ruan v. United States, a Florida pharmacy is at the steps of the Supreme Court arguing that the DEA has unconstitutionally encroached on the practice of pharmacies dispensing opioid prescriptions. Should the Supreme Court take up this challenge it would be in a position to extend the Ruan decision to the practice of pharmacy and restrict the DEA’s powers to discipline pharmacists.

Securing acquittal in opioid prescribing or “pill mill” cases is a daunting task. Federal criminal defense attorney Ronald Chapman is

Detroit Federal Health Care Fraud Defense Attorney Secures Another Victory. A Detroit federal jury acquitted four physicians of allegations that they engaged in a $454 million dollar healthcare fraud and opioid scheme and conspiracy spanning six years. After six weens of testimony and just ten hours of deliberations the jury acquitted the four physicians of healthcare fraud, unlawful prescribing and conspiracy.

In the unanimous Supreme Court decision, Ruan v. United States, the Supreme Court struck down the application of objective standards as a vehicle for opioid prosecutions against physicians accused of unlawful prescribing. The Supreme Court paves the way for a more tailored approach to measuring physician conduct.

With a decision on Ruan v. United States and Khan v. United States by the Supreme Court just around the corner, there are a few factual developments that give insight into the Court’s potential decision which will greatly impact opioid prescribers and pain patients.

In Shinn v. Ramirez the Supreme Court led by Justice Thomas held that a state court defendant is barred from access to federal courts if his state court claim is procedurally barred even where his counsel is ineffective. A salty dissent pointed out that innocent people will be imprisoned or even executed for failure to have a competent lawyer. Habeas relief continues to erode.

The CDC COVID-19 mask mandate has been declared unlawful by a federal judge in the Middle District of Florida. In a 59 page ruling, Judge Mizelle declared the mask mandate an unconstitutional exercise of government power. Airlines were quick to permit the widespread removal of masks.

The 2016 CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids is undergoing well needed change. The AMA released public comments applauding the CDC’s efforts to make some changes while declaring that it has not gone far enough to protect pain patients, prescribers, and the public.