The US Supreme Court in Ruan sided with doctors seeking a burden of proof higher than mere negligence in prosecutions for unlawful distribution of controlled substances. The decision represents a significant win for those worried about overcriminalization and the associated risk of losing the criminal law’s critical stigmatic impact, write Perkins Coie attorneys T. Markus

In this post, Perkins Coie attorneys discuss a U.S. Federal Trade Commission settlement regarding its most recent law enforcement action to monitor the marketplace for misleading cannabidiol product claims. The action targets Kushly Industries LLC and the company’s sole officer for allegedly making false or unsupported health benefit claims about Kushly’s CBD product.

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Dave Eggers and Perkins Coie’s Firmwide White Collar & Investigations Chair (and former Chicago federal prosecutor) Markus Funk have a candid and probing conversation about today’s calls for fundamental criminal justice reform. Dave and Markus cover a wide range of topics, including why we need to fundamentally rethink the state’s treatment of suspects, defendants, and

This week the Supreme Court trimmed the SEC’s power to seek disgorgement of unlawful gains by securities law violators by unanimously holding in Kokesh v. Securities and Exchange Commission that SEC disgorgement constitutes a penalty and such claims must be brought within five years of their accrual. This decision resolved the circuit split described in a previous post.

SEC Does Not Have Limitless Power to Impose Penalties

Kokesh involved the SEC’s effort to collect $34.9 million in disgorgement for conduct going back as far as 1995, and an additional $18.1 million in prejudgment interest. The Court noted that statutes of limitations are “vital to the welfare of society” and set a fixed date when exposure to Government enforcement efforts end.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Reins In SEC’s Disgorgement Power