LegalFish: The Daily Tackle

Galleon Group Arrest: Insider Trading or Aggressive Research?

With the crumble, and hopefully resurrection soon, of the financial markets, my blood can't help but boil and my head can't help but spin when I hear of another potential financial injustice. This week's Odd File case will return tomorrow; meanwhile, check this out. 

Here’s the scenario:

Billionaire founder of the Galleon Group Raj Rajaratnam was charged last week by federal prosecutors for utilizing insider trading schemes to net Galleon more than $20 million worth in illegal profits. Danielle Chiesi from New Castle Funds was also charged with supplying Rajaratnam and New Castle with insider information. However, reports are surfacing that if Rajaratnam was using insider information to drive which shares Galleon would purchase for profits, then Rajaratnam was a lousy at insider trading. According to the criminal complaint, Chiesi coaxed Rajaratnam to purchase 16 million shares and New Castle to purchase 2.5 million shares of A.M.D., a computer chip maker. Galleon spent $85 million to $90 million on the 16 million share purchase, but, when the global financial markets began to fall, so did A.M.D.’s shares. The shares that Galleon purchased were then only worth $68 million, and the group suffered a near 30% loss. 

Criminal Law: Alleged Abuse of Judicial Power

Here’s the scenario:

Ex-judge Herman Thomas was once a prominent political figure in Mobile, Alabama as a black Democrat that was repeatedly elected in a predominantly white, Republican county. AOL.com notes that Thomas was selected as the Democratic party’s choice to be the first black federal judge in South Alabama. However, Thomas’ reputation and career began to deteriorate when stories surfaced about him pressuring inmates to have sex with him in exchange for lighter sentences. 

Fourteen former and current inmates have come forward accounting that Thomas made them pull down their underwear to spank them with his fraternity paddle and engaged in oral and anal sex with him to stay in good favor with the judge. Thomas would apparently sign some of the inmates out of prison to have sexual encounters with them in his car or and in his private office in the county courthouse. According to court records, one inmate’s semen was found on the office carpet. 

Crime and Violence: Chicago Teen Beat to Death, Attackers' Legal Consequences

I’m sure that most of us have heard about the 16 year-old Chicago teen Derrion Albert that was beaten to death in a brawl while walking home from school. The horrific video footage, which shows his assailants thrashing him with a railroad plank, was captured on a cell phone and made national headlines.  The Fenger High School student was laid to rest in Chicago on Saturday, October 3, and Jesse Jackson as well as other civil rights leaders attended Albert’s funeral at Greater Mt. Hebron Baptist Church. 

Although many can’t help but wonder if Albert’s death hurt Chicago’s chances of winning the 2016 Olympic bid, this cruel beating further highlights Chicago’s problem with violence, and particularly exhibits what happens when misguided, gang-affiliated youth take matters into their own hands. The brutal, senseless actions of these teens show exactly how limitedly they appreciate humanity and their own future. According the Chicago Defender, four teens, Silvanus Shannon, 19, Eugene Bailey, 18, Eugene Riley, 18 and Eric Carson, 16, were charged on September 28 as adults with first-degree murder and held without bond as ordered by the Cook County State’s Attorney's office.  Chicago Police continue to search for at least three more suspects responsible for the homicide.

International Law and Extradition: Roman Polanski Pedophilia Case Reopened

The 13-year-old girl that famed film director Roman Polanski gave champagne and Quaaludes to before raping over 30 years ago at Jack Nicholson's house is now 45 and pleading with California courts to dismiss their case against him. Samantha Geimer argues that every time the case is revisited, she’s forced to relive the horrid details of the rape and the public’s reaction. Geimer told People magazine in 1997 that, when her mother decided to legally pursue Roman Polanski for having sex with a minor in March of 1977, her life turned upside down. European tabloids plastered pictures of her with captions like “Little Lolita” saying “’Poor Roman Polaski’, entrapped by a 13-year-old temptress.” Although Samantha Geimer and her family sued Roman Polanski and reached a settlement outside of court, Los Angeles prosecutors are exercising their legal right to further pursue the case. 

Criminal Law: Bank of America's Legal Woes

Bank of America’s purchase of Merrill Lynch back in January of 2009 for $29 billion has brought the bank a lot of uninvited legal attention. After suffering a loss of $27.6 billion in 2008, Bank of America paid out $3.6 billion in bonuses to Merrill employees before closing the deal. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and other congressional investigators are probing whether or not Bank of America failed to disclose to shareholders Merrill Lynch's losses and bonus payments before the merger was approved. And, the Department of Justice and the FBI have been conducting a criminal investigation about the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch deal for six months.

Escaped Legally Insane Killer - Recaptured but Concerns Still Rise

Phillip Paul admitted to killing an elderly woman in 1987 because he was responding to the voices in his head that told him she was a witch. Paul was acquitted of her murder by reason of insanity and was committed after being diagnosed a paranoid schizophrenic. 

On Thursday, September 17, 2009, Paul, a patient at Eastern State Hospital, escaped from the custody of his caretakers while on a field trip to the Spokane County Fair in Washington. Although Paul was recaptured on Sunday, September 20, this incident has left many, including government officials, with the unsettling thoughts about how this could have happened and how this could have been prevented. This was unfortunately not Paul’s first attempt to escape as he briefly escaped and assaulted a law enforcement officer back in 1991. Additionally, there is evidence that Paul challenged being institutionalized as the hospital cited his lack of compliance back on March 16th, noting “that he did not think he was mentally ill and that he was becoming increasingly aggressive.”

How is it that a schizophrenic killer could have been allowed to go on a field trip in such a public setting as a county fair – especially since he has a history of trying to escape and non-compliance with the hospital? 

Exploring Liability when Campus Violence Occurs

In the recent years, strings of violent attacks and murders have plagued college campuses around the country. In April of 2007, Seung-Hui Cho, a disturbed student at Virginia Tech, opened fire at two campus locations, killing 33, including the shooter, and injuring 17 people. In February of 2008, Steven Kazmierczak, a former student at Northern Illinois University, opened fire in a hall, killing six people, including the attacker, and wounding 18. And, just earlier this week, sources reported that the body of the missing Yale student, Annie Le, was found in a laboratory basement wall.

Criminal Law: The Hazy Debate

I just moved from the state of California, and the delivery of my car was delayed for nearly two weeks because according to my moving company,  “a lot of people are moving from the state.” Why would so many people be moving from the sunny, beautiful state of California – home to the hills of San Francisco and where TV and film dreams are made in Hollywood? Perhaps, California’s financial crisis has shadowed over its state. The problem and how to solve it has not only been heavily debated and reached national headlines, but it has left its politicians puzzled with the immense feat of making financial wrongs right.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of the state known for its surf boards and beach mentality, is considering the option of legalizing and taxing marijuana for recreational use in California to help beat the state’s looming deficit. According to a New York Times article in May of 2009, Governor  Schwarzenegger thinks “it’s time for a debate” and urged for a careful study to be conducted about the other countries that have legalized marijuana’s usage.