Wire fraud is very common in Iowa and around the world. This type of fraud happens through social media, texts, emails or phone calls. It generally involves someone scamming the victim out of a lot of money by tricking them into giving them their bank account...
Federal Crimes
Types of felonies and the maximum sentences they carry
Felonies represent the most serious types of criminal charges lodged against Iowa residents. A variety of offenses can result in a felony indictment. Law enforcement officials group these crimes into categories based on levels of seriousness. A conviction can cost a...
If you violate a site’s terms of service, are you a criminal?
The federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) could be considered a harsh law by any standards. For the offense of "accessing a computer and obtaining information," you could be sentenced to up to 5 years in federal prison on a first offense.Could you be sentenced...
Study: The FBI’s blue jean wear mark analysis is not reliable
Over the last year, the nonprofit investigative newsroom ProPublica has published a series of articles that called into question whether some forensic techniques produce reliable results. One of the techniques questioned is the matching of wear marks along the seams...
Federal First Step Act has brought over 2,400 reduced sentences
The federal First Step Act was passed in late 2018 in an effort to reverse course on some overly harsh sentences that had been passed down over the last several decades. It also allowed for the early release of terminally ill people and passed a variety of reforms to...
Judge: FBI must say whether it monitors social media activity
Have you ever wondered if the government is monitoring your Facebook or Instagram? They are.According to the ACLU, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have been increasingly monitoring the social media of both Americans and non-citizens. The group filed a...
There are far, far too many things that are federal crimes
Do you know how many federal crimes are on the books? Neither do we. In fact, nobody does.In 1982, a group of Justice Department attorneys attempted to find out. After two years of reading countless federal statutes and regulations, the lawyers were only able to come...
Federal judge rules the terrorism watch list unconstitutional
There are approximately 1.16 million people labeled "known or suspected terrorists" on the FBI's terrorism watch list. While most of them are from foreign countries, about 4,600 people on the list as of 2017 were U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents -- and many...
ABA, NACDL urge Congress to fully fund federal First Step Act
The American Bar Association's (ABA's) House of Delegates and the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys (NACDL) have just passed a unanimous resolution urging Congress to fully fund the federal First Step Act and to make it retroactive.As we've discussed...
Over 1,000 federal prisoners’ sentences reduced by First Step Act
As we discussed on this blog last December, the First Step Act was a bipartisan reform law that promised relief for federal defendants and prisoners in several areas. The Act was expected to be especially helpful to minority defendants, as minorities have...
