Federal Criminal Law

Lesson 1

Chapter 1. Introduction  (page 1)

Chapter 2. Federal, State and Local Criminal Enforcement Resources (5)

Introductory Note: The History of Federal Law Enforcement (5)

A. Federal Criminal Enforcement Agencies (6)

1. The FBI (6)

2. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) (7)

3. Other Federal Police Agencies (7)

4. The Criminal Division (8)

5. United States Attorneys 10)

6. Drug Task Forces and Organized Crime Strike Forces (12)

B. State and Local Criminal Enforcement Resources (12)

1. Police (12)

2. Prosecutors (13)

C. Federal and State Criminal Caseload (13)

Chapter 3. Scope of the Federal Criminal Laws (18)

A. Bases for Federal Criminal Jurisdiction (18)

1. Transportation etc. in Interstate Commerce  (20)

2. Affecting Commerce (22)

a. Inclusion of the Jurisdictional Element in the Definition of the

Crime—The Hobbs Act (22)

b. Jurisdiction Based on Effect on Commerce Without Including

the Jurisdictional Element in the Definition of the Offense:

The Class of Activities Approach (24)

B. The Commerce Clause ‘‘Revolution’’ (27)

Supplemental reading:

→ article arguing that the federal criminal law is a disgrace.

For lesson 1 on Wednesday, January 20^th, 2010, please read Abrams pages 1 to 40 (end of note 2).  Audio file, here.

Lesson 2

C. Illustrative Applications of the Jurisdictional and Substantive Reach of Several Statutory Crime Areas (41)

1. Affecting Interstate Commerce  (42)

a. Post–Lopez/Morrison/Raich Hobbs Act Cases (42)

b. Post–Lopez/Morrison/Raich Firearms Cases Based Upon Class of Activities Approach Without Jurisdictional Element  (51)

2. Federal Statutes Requiring That an Entity Be ‘‘Engaged In’’

Interstate Commerce—RICO and Arson (54)

3. Statutes Requiring Movement in Interstate Commerce, or the Use of Facilities of Interstate Commerce—Travel Act and Sexual Offenses  (61)

a. Movement in Interstate Commerce  (61)

b. Use of a Facility of Interstate Commerce  (70)

For lesson 2 on Monday, January 25^th, 2010, please read Abrams pages 41 to 75. Audio file of Lesson 2, here.

Chapter 4. The Selection of Cases for Federal Prosecution  (76)

Introduction (76)

A. Considerations That Affect the Choice Between Federal or State Prosecution 

1. Primary Investigative Jurisdiction and the Practice of Cross–Designation (78)

2. Custody of the Suspect (78)

3. The Possibility of a Duplicative Prosecution (78)

4. Collaborative Investigations (79)

5. The Big Case Factor (79)

6. Caseload and Resources  (79)

7. Inter–Agency Relationships and Relations Among Agents  (80)

8. Legal Advantage  (80)

9. Policies (84)

B. Policies Relevant to the Choice Between Federal and State Prosecution and Which Federal Crimes to Prosecute  (85)

1. Introduction (85)

2. Policy Statements and Prosecutorial Discretion (86)

a. Introduction (86)

b. The Principles of Federal Prosecution  (87)

c. Crime–Specific Substantive Policies (92)

d. Dual Sovereignty and the Petite Policy (93)

e. Approval and Consultation Requirements (109)

f. Adherence to Department of Justice Policies (110)

g. U.S. Attorneys’ Local Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion (112)

C. Formulation of Priorities; Other Operational Features That Affect Areas of Investigation and Prosecution  (114)

1. Enforcement Priorities or Missions (116)

a. Introductory Overview—Emphasis Among Missions; The Elevation of the Anti–Terrorism Mission and Its Implications (116)

b. Organized Crime (119)

c. White Collar Crime (120)

d. Official Corruption  (121)

e. Drug Enforcement (122)

f. Violent Crime (122)

2. Relationships With Investigative Agencies (123)

3. Task Forces, Strike Forces and Special Purpose Units (124)

4. Coordination Bodies (125)

5. Investigative Techniques (126)

6. Other Methods  (126)

D. The Use of Improper Criteria and the Risks of Political Influence (128)

1. In General  (128)

2. The Defense of Selective Prosecution ( 128)

3. Are the U.S. Attorneys Insulated From Political Pressures? (130)

a. Controversy Surrounding the Firing of U.S Attorneys  (130)

b. A Change in the Law Governing the Appointment of U.S. Attorneys  (131)

c. Reform Measures Instituted (131)

Assignment for Lesson 3 on Wednesday, January 27, 2010: All of the topics in Chapter 4 can be covered in one class, but the chapter covers too many pages for one assignment (pp.76-132).  We can cover the material in 4.C. (pp. 114-128) and 4.D.3. (pp.130-132) without your having read it first.  So, I suggest that you read pp. 76-114 and pages 128-130.

• handout from lesson 3 on Operation Gemini.

• handout on US Attorney's Manual

• audio file.

Assignment for Lesson 4 on Monday, February 1, 2010: pages 133 to 166.

Chapter 5. Mail Fraud  (133)

Introduction (133)

A. The Breadth of the Concept of Scheme to Defraud  (135)

1. The Evolving Concept of Scheme to Defraud—The Birth, Death, and Rebirth of the Intangible Rights Theory (141)

a. The Development of the Intangible Rights Theory in the

Lower Courts (141)

b. The Supreme Court’s Renunciation of the Intangible Rights

Doctrine in McNally (143)

c. The Enactment of § 1346 and the Rebirth of Intangible Rights (144)

2. Questions Concerning the Contemporary Scope of the Mail and Wire Fraud Statutes (145)

B. Prosecuting Public Fiduciaries: Using the Mail and Wire Fraud Statutes to Police Political Corruption Under § 1346 (145)

Assignment for Lesson 5 on Wednesday, February 3, 2010: Pages 166 to end of chapter at 208, but skipping Note 2 on pp. 173-174; Note 4 on p 189; Note 5 on pp. 200-202; and Note 5 on p. 208.
 

C. Prosecuting Private Fiduciaries: Using the Mail and Wire Fraud Statutes to Police the Private Sector Under § 1346 (166)

D. What Is Property?  (182)

E. Use of the Mails (194)

F. Mail Fraud and Other Crimes  (204)

Assignment for Lesson 6 on February 8, 2009, is this handout.

Supplemental materials on mail/wire fraud:

→ Sorich v. United States 129 S.Ct. 1308 (Feb. 23, 2009)

 

Weyhrauch v. United States:

→ Transcript of oral argument in Weyhrauch v. United States

→ Brief for Appellant

→ Brief for United States

Black v. United States:

→ Transcript of oral argument in Black v. United States

→ Brief for Appellant

→ Brief for United States

Skilling v. United States:

→ Appellant's brief

→ Appellee's brief in Skilling v. United States

→ Amicus brief

 

→ Indictment in U.S. v. Bruno [NY State Senator; all 8 accounts allege theft of honest services.]

→ U.S. House of Representatives Report on Selective prosecution, April 2008.

→ Testimony of former Attorney General Thornburgh to that House report

 

For Lesson 7 on Wednesday, 2/10/10 we will cover the Hobbs Act, Chapter Six, but feel free to skip all of the notes. That is, please read the three cases (Edwards, Evans, Wilkerson).

Chapter 6. The Hobbs Act (209)

Introduction (209)

A. Extortion by Force, Violence, or Fear  (212)

B. Extortion Under Color of Official Right (220)

C. Affecting Interstate Commerce (236)

Chapter 7. Official Bribery and Gratuities (253)

Introduction (253)

A. The Distinction Between Bribery and Gratuities (256)

B. Other Elements of a Violation of § 201 (271)

1. Thing of Value(271)

2. Public Official (273)

C. Distinguishing Bribery and Extortion From Campaign Contributions and Fees for Legitimate Services (274)

D. Federal Program Bribery (276)

Chapter 8. An Overview of Federal Crimes Dealing With Political Corruption (290)

Current Theft of Honest Service Cases in the Supreme Court 2009-2010 Term – See Handout.

Chapter 12. Conspiracy  (535)

Introduction (535)

A. Rationale and General Characteristics (537)

B. Elements of the Crime of Conspiracy(548)

1. Proof of the Agreement and Related Issues (548)

2. The Overt Act (564)

3. Duration of the Conspiracy (567)

C. Liability for Substantive Offenses Through Conspiracy: The Pinkerton Doctrine (570)

D. § 371: Conspiracy to Defraud the United States (580)

1. In General  (580)

2. The Relationship Between the Defraud Clause and the Offense Clause (583)

Chapter 13. RICO—The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute (587)

Introduction (587)

A. The RICO Statute(590)

B. The General Primary Target of RICO: Organized Crime (593)

C. The Enterprise Element  (598)

1. An Association in Fact as the Enterprise (598)

2. A Legal Entity as the Enterprise  (608)

3. Enterprises With Ideological Goals (612)

D. The RICO Defendant ‘‘Person’’: The ‘‘Person’s’’ Relationship to the ‘‘Enterprise’’  (619)

E. The ‘‘Person’s’’ ‘‘Conduct’’ of the ‘‘Enterprise’s Affairs’’: The ‘‘Operation or Management’’ Test (632)

F. The Pattern of Racketeering Activity (651)

1. The Pattern Requirement (651)

2. Racketeering Activity (665)

a. In General (665)

b. Conspiracy as a Predicate Offense (666)

c. Predicate Acts Which Have Previously Been the Subject of a Criminal Prosecution  (668)

G. RICO Conspiracy (670)

H. Civil RICO(679)

1. Private Civil Remedies (680)

2. Civil RICO Suits Brought by the Federal Government (698)

Chapter 15. An Overview of RICO, CCE, and the Other Federal Statutes Dealing With Organizational Crime (763)

Chapter 9. Drug Offense Enforcement (312)

Introduction (312)

A. Federal Strategy(315)

1. Overview of the Federal Drug Strategy (315)

2. Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Federal Strategy(317)

3. Support for Legalization (319)

a. The Federal Challenge to Narrow State Initiatives (319)

b. Decriminalization  (320)

4. Other Approaches  (322)

5. Defense of the Federal Strategy (323)

B. The Core Offenses: Manufacture, Distribution, and Possession With Intent to Distribute (325)

1. The Grading Scheme Applicable to the Core Offenses (328)

2. The Disparity in Treatment Between Powder and Crack Cocaine (338)

3. Supplementation of the Core Offense—the Schoolyard Statute and Other Piggyback Enhancement Provisions (347)

4. Prosecutorial Discretion and the Core Federal Drug Offenses: The Critique and the Search for a Solution(359)

C. Continuing Criminal Enterprise—CCE (364)

1. The Elements of the Offense (367)

2. CCE and Double Jeopardy (375)

a. CCE and Multiple Punishments (376)

b. CCE and Successive Prosecutions (377)

3. The Future of CCE (379)

D. Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (381)

E. Defenses 400)

1. Entrapment  400)

2. Duress 407)

Chapter 10. Currency Reporting Offenses and Money Laundering (416)

Introduction 416)

A. Currency Reporting Offenses (419)

1. An Overview of the Legislative Response(419)

2. The Liability of a Financial Institution for Failure to File Currency Transaction Reports  (421)

a. Corporate Criminal Liability (421)

b. Establishing Entity ‘‘Willfulness’’ in Bank Secrecy Act Violations (423)

c. The Relevance of Corporate Compliance Programs (430)

d. Suspicious Activity Reports (431)

3. Liability of Bank Customers in Connection With Currency Reporting Regulations: The Offense of Structuring (433)

4. The Role of the Currency Reporting Laws in the Development of the Money Laundering Enforcement Regime(437)

B. Money Laundering: 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957  (440)

1. Section 1956—Concealment and Promotion Theories  (447)

2. Section 1957 Offense  (460)

Chapter 11. Firearms Regulation (483)

A. Introduction—The Gun Control Controversy (483)

B. Modern Federal Policies for Dealing With Gun Violence(486)

C. Firearms Offenses  (489)

1. Introduction (489)

2. Federal Prosecution of Firearms Offenses (490)

a. Possession in Furtherance, Uses, Carries  (491)

b. Element of the Crime, or Sentencing Enhancement; Brandish 501)

c. Possession of Firearms by Persons Previously Convicted of a Crime; Armed Career Criminal Act (505)

d. Miscellaneous Gun Law Cases (512)

D. Second Amendment Issues (514)

[Chapters 12 & 13 à See above, right after Chapter 9.]

Chapter 14. Anti–Terrorism Enforcement (707)

Introduction (707)

A. Organizational Changes in the FBI in Aid of Anti–Terrorist Enforcement (709)

B. Traditional Criminal Prosecution of Persons Charged With Terrorism–Related Acts (712)

1. Illustrative Offenses (712)

2. 18 U.S.C. §§ 2339A and 2339B—A Brief Description (713)

3. The § 2339A and § 2339B Statutes (715)

4. Construing ‘‘material support’’ Under § 2339A and § 2339B (717)

5. The Mens Rea Elements of § 2339A and § 2339B—‘‘Knowingly’’—Is Specific Intent Required?  (724)

6. The Foreign Terrorist Organization Element of § 2339B; Challenging the Designation (741)

C. A Military Alternative to Traditional Federal Criminal Enforcement (755)

1. Two Persons Arrested in the United States and Declared Enemy Combatants (755)

2. Persons Arrested Abroad on Terrorism or Related Actions and Held in Military Custody— Military Commission Procedures (758)

Chapter 15 à see above.

Chapter 16. Perjury and False Statements—18 U.S.C. §§ 1621–1623; 1001  (775)

Introduction (775)

I. Perjury (775)

A. The Perjury Statutes (775)

B. The Relationship Between § 1621 and § 1623 (777)

C. The Nature of Falsity Under the Perjury Statute (786)

1. The Literally True Statement; The Non–Responsive Answer (786)

2. Response to a Question That Contains an Ambiguity (793)

3. The ‘‘I Do Not Recall’’ Response & the Knowledge Requirement (795)

D. Sentencing Enhancements for Committing Perjury (797)

II. False Statements Within the Jurisdiction of a Federal Agency—18 U.S.C. § 1001 (798)

A. Introduction (798)

B. Elements of the Offense—In General (800)

C. Limitations (826)

1. According to the Agency or Agency Function  (826)

2. According to the Type of Statement (837)

D. § 1001 and Other Crimes  (848)

Special Topic: Civil Rights Law

See handouts.

Special Topic: Environmental Crimes

See handouts.

Chapter 17. Obstruction of Justice: Interference With Witnesses  (853)

Introduction (853)

A. § 1503, The Omnibus Provision: Knowledge of Judicial Proceedings and Analogous Elements— The ‘‘Nexus’’ Requirement  (854)

B. § 1512: Document Destruction as Obstruction of Justice: ‘‘Corruptly Persuades’’; The Nexus Requirement  (865)

C. Kinds of Conduct Constituting an Obstruction of Justice (880)

D. § 1519: A General Anti–Shredding Provision Without a Nexus Requirement  (895)

E. Other Obstruction of Justice Provisions (905)

Chapter 18. Plea Bargaining and Cooperation Agreements  (911)

A. Introduction  (911)

1. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11 (911)

2. The World of Guilty Pleas (913)

B. The Constitutionality of Guilty Pleas  (914)

1. Voluntary, Knowing, and Intelligent Pleas (914)

2. Trial and Appellate Rights Waivers (925)

C. Proffers, Immunity, and Cooperation Agreements (930)

1. Proffers and Informal Immunity Agreement  (931)

2. Cooperation Agreements (938)

3. Corporate Plea, Cooperation, and Deferred–Prosecution Agreements (960)

Chapter 19. The Sentencing Guidelines (967)

Introduction (967)

A. Overview of the History and Function of the Sentencing Guidelines  (968)

B. How the Guidelines Work  (970)

1. A Step by Step Tour of the Guidelines  (970)

2. Applying the Guidelines—An Example (977)

C. Booker and Its Offspring (981)

1. The Booker Opinions (981)

2. Explaining and Critiquing the Booker Opinions (986)

3. Preserving Real Offense Sentencing (987)

4. Defining What ‘‘Advisory’’ Means: Rita, Gall, and Kimbrough (989)

5. Taking Stock of Booker, Rita, and Gall (996)

a. Discretion (997)

b. Discretion to Disagree With the Commission on Offense Guidelines (998)

c. Discretion, Disparity, and Institutional Features (1023)

d. Sentencing Disparity After Booker (1027)

D. Post–Booker Legislative Reforms  (1031)

1. Responses to Booker (1032)

a. Reforms Intended to Promote Uniformity and Curb Leniency (1032)

b. Reforms Intended to Bring the Jury into the Guidelines (1033)

c. More Fundamental Reform (1034)

2. Key Issues—What Do You Think?  (1036)

Chapter 20. Forfeiture (1040)

Introduction (1040)

A. The Scope of Forfeiture (1051)

B. The Constitutionality of Civil and Criminal Forfeiture (1060)

1. The Constitutional Measure of Excessiveness (1061)

2. Forfeiture of Attorney’s Fees? (1076)

C. Third Party Claims (1083)

1. The ‘‘Relation–Back’’ Doctrine (1084)

2. Criminal Cases—Bona Fide Purchasers for Value and Private Civil Claimants (1085)

3. Civil Cases—Innocent Owners (1088)

a. The Core Innocent Owner Provisions (1089)

b. Extending the ‘‘Innocent Owner’’ Concept to Include Some BFPs  (1090)

c. Special Provisions for Residential Property (1091)

Lesson 28

Review

Examination

Tuesday, May 11, 2010, at 1:30 p.m.