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Daily Archives: March 3, 2020

Corporate and White-Collar Prosecutions At All-Time Lows Inbox

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse – “The latest available case-by-case records from the Department of Justice show that the prosecution of white-collar offenders in January 2020 reached an all-time low since tracking began during the Reagan Administration. Only 359 defendants were prosecuted. Almost all of these were individuals rather than businesses. January 2020’s prosecutions continued a downward slide, dropping 8 percent from a year ago, and were down 25 percent from just five years ago. On an annual basis, during the Obama Administration they reached over 10,000 in FY 2011. If prosecutions continue at the same pace for the remainder of FY 2020, they are projected to fall to 5,175 – about half the level of their Obama-era peak. These comparisons are based on case-by-case information obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University after successful litigation against the Justice Department under the Freedom of Information Act.

Prosecutors chiefly pursue individuals when prosecuting white-collar crimes. Corporations and other business organizations are rarely prosecuted. Yet white-collar crimes typically involve some form of fraud or anti-trust violations involving financial, insurance or mortgage institutions; health care providers; securities and commodities firms; or frauds committed in tax, federal procurement or federal programs among others. Since separate tracking for business entities began in FY 2004, businesses made up just 1 out of every 100 prosecutions. Mirroring overall trends, the number of white-collar offenses that business entities have been prosecuted for have also been generally falling…”

How to Dox Yourself on the Internet

The NYT Open Team – A step-by-step guide to finding and removing your personal information from the internet. “No one wants their home address on the internet. That is personal information we typically only give out to friends, family and maybe our favorite online stores. Yet, for many of us, that information is available and… Continue Reading

Toward A Mission-Based Ranking?

Guthrie, Chris, Toward A Mission-Based Ranking? (February 21, 2020). Vanderbilt Law Research Paper No. 20-13; 60 Jurimetrics Journal 75-81 (2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3542518 – “Law schools exist to generate knowledge about law and the legal system and to prepare students for entry into the profession. Law school rankings, in turn, should evaluate schools on their… Continue Reading

Too good to be true? Beware of fake online jobs

Fortune: “The posting on a big, reputable job board seemed perfect: An opening at a well-known company you’ve always admired, with generous pay and benefits and the option of working from home. Of course you submit a resume and after an interview or two by phone or video—usually with, say, the HR director and one… Continue Reading

Why is the BLM clearing vast swaths of piñon-juniper forests across the West?

Slash and Burn – Sierra Club -“Over the years, I have often seen the evidence of this mass deforestation: in geometric clearcuts along the ranges of Catron County, New Mexico; in old-growth piñon forest reduced to pulp on the remote Tavaputs Plateau in Utah; in vast fields of stumps on rugged mountainsides in the basin… Continue Reading

As Coronavirus Numbers Rise C.D.C. Testing Comes Under Fire

The New York Times – Federal health officials botched an initial diagnostic test and restricted widespread screening. Missteps may have raised the risks to Americans, critics say. “The coronavirus has found a crack in the nation’s public health armor, and it is not one that scientists foresaw: diagnostic testing. The Centers for Disease Control and… Continue Reading

CDC drops coronavirus testing numbers from their website

The Verge: “A tally of the number of people tested for the novel coronavirus disappeared from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website on Monday. The change was first reported by journalist Judd Legum on Twitter. The disappearance of the numbers comes less than a week after the first cases of the virus with… Continue Reading

Cisco: Avoid coronavirus, stay home, use Webex

ars technica: “Networking giant Cisco is getting into the coronavirus monitoring and mitigation game with its Webex remote meeting property. The company notes that in the wake of mandates issued to employees to halt travel plans and/or work from home, traffic across its Webex backbone has increased significantly. Webex meeting traffic connecting Chinese users to… Continue Reading

WHO warns coronavirus more dangerous than flu with mortality rate of 3.4%

LA Times: “As three more deaths in the United States were linked to the coronavirus Tuesday World Health Organization officials warned the virus could be far more dangerous than the flu, with a mortality rate of 3.4%.  The global mortality rate — which includes more than 3,000 deaths — is many times higher than the… Continue Reading