Big Money and Massive Surveillance: The Finance Industry’s Partnership With Federal Law Enforcement by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on the Judiciary (“Committee “) released a report on March 6, 2024, entitled “Financial Surveillance in the United States: How Federal Law Enforcement Commandeered Financial …

Fourth Circuit Vacates Where Instructions Failed to Inform Jury That Mens Rea of ‘Knowingly or Intentionally’ Applies to ‘Except as Authorized’ in 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney   The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated the convictions of Dr. Joel Smithers because …

North Carolina Supreme Court: Testimony That Improperly Bolstered Victim’s Credibility Was Plain Error by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of North Carolina upheld a decision of the Court of Appeals (“COA”) that found plain error where an investigator from the Department of Social Services Child Protective Services …