Law Commons^™

Strategies For Increasing And Improving Public Corruption Prosecutions: The Task Force Model, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Without a doubt, public corruption is the sort of crime that prosecutors and investigators everywhere would like to vigorously pursue. With the limited resources available to most of these offices and competing mandates to fight many other sorts of crime, however, how can offices expand their ability to do more corruption cases? One solution can be found in banding together as a task force. This brief provides examples of task forces around the country that could serve as models for an office or a jurisdiction looking to improve their capabilities to fight corruption effectively and efficiently.

What Is Asset Tracing? A Primer On "Following The Money" For Integrity Practitioners And Policymakers, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

To put it simply, asset tracing is the process by which investigators “follow the money.” Investigators trace assets by conducting financial investigations, during which they determine a subject’s assets, examine the revenue generated by criminal activity, and follow its trail.

Mexico City's Citizen Comptroller Program, Patricio Martinez Llompart

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Since 1997, Mexico City has had an autonomous, elected government responsible for meeting the needs of nearly nine million metropolitan citizens. Controlling corruption has been a key public priority. In 2004, the city government passed the Citizen Participation Act (Ley de Participación Ciudadana), which established a landmark program to enlist citizen volunteers directly in the day-to-day work of procurement oversight.

These trained volunteers, called “citizen comptrollers,” act as ground-level watchdogs to observe and evaluate public contracting processes. The “bottom up” approach to municipal anti-corruption control pioneered by the Citizen Comptrollers program can serve as an innovative model for cities and …

Ingredients For An Effective Public Ethics Training Program, Alicia Olmstead, Sabine Romero

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Most of us will agree that ethics training is vital to ensuring a government whose employees act with integrity. But many employees find training on their ethical obligations to be some other things as well: difficult to understand, overly preachy, or just plain boring. We all know that people retain information better when it is presented in an interesting and memorable way. The challenge with ethics training is to take this important, but not always accessible, subject matter and make it stick in the minds of government employees so that they do the right thing when facing an ethical dilemma.

What Do Corrupt Firms Have In Common? Red Flags Of Corruption In Organizational Culture, Alison Taylor

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

What kind of an organizational culture do corrupt companies tend to have? To answer this question, I conducted a study based on a review of academic literature as well as in-depth interviews with 23 prominent lawyers, investigators, scholars, and policymakers with firsthand knowledge of the inner workings of dozens of corrupt firms. They highlighted a number of common traits often missed by standard compliance processes that might be “red flags” for organizational corruption. These traits don’t guarantee corruption within an organization, but they do point to the conditions in which it thrives.

Asset Forfeiture In Public Corruption Cases, Pamela S. Stanek

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

This publication is intended to be a practical guide to pursuing federal asset forfeiture where a public corruption crime is the underlying offense. Although the reader of this guide may be pursuing state crimes and forfeiture, reaching out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the experts in public corruption cases, is recommended. Addressing the laws of all fifty states is beyond the scope of this guide. Nonetheless, the considerations and guidance underlying federal forfeiture will generally apply to the pursuit of state forfeitures as the majority of the state statutes are modeled after the federal statutes and involve similar …

Senator Menendez And The Speech And Debate Clause, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Robert “Bob” Menendez is a United States Senator from New Jersey. He was appointed to the Senate in 2006 by newly elected Governor John Corzine to fill Corzine’s vacated seat. Menendez served two years as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, from 2013 to 2015, and remained that committee’s ranking Democrat until his indictment. He is also a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Finance. Between 1993 and 2006, Menendez represented New Jersey’s 13th district in the United States House of Representatives.

The Conviction Of Congressman Chaka Fattah, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Congressman Chaka Fattah has represented Pennsylvania’s 2nd District, which includes parts of Philadelphia, for 20 years.

On June 21, 2016, Congressman Fattah was convicted on all 23 counts of public corruption he faced, including conspiracy to commit racketeering (RICO), bribery, money laundering, and fraud. Fattah’s four co-defendants included his chief of staff as well as a former Philadelphia deputy mayor.

A Practitioner's Guide To Wiretaps In Public Corruption Investigations, Wesley Cheng

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

The nonconsensual interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications of targets in criminal investigations is a powerful law enforcement tool and can be used to great effect in many cases, including public corruption cases. Indeed, particularly in cases where wrongful behavior is covert – as is often the case when public officials are involved – there is great value to evidence that allows prosecutors to use the defendant’s own recorded words against him in the courtroom. But there are many factors to consider before using this labor-intensive, long-term tool in your corruption investigation, and once a decision has been made …

The Rikers Island Smuggling Bust, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Rikers Island is New York City’s primary jail complex, with a daily inmate population of approximately 10,000. The 400-acre complex consists of ten different jails that can hold up to 15,000 inmates in total. Rikers has come under criticism as a rise in violent attacks, between inmates and against corrections officers, has drawn public attention to perceived systemic corruption, abuses, and a culture of violence within the complex.

The Arrest Of Norman Seabrook And The Nypd Corruption Probe, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Since 1995, Norman Seabrook has served as president of the New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association (COBA), the largest municipal jail union in the U.S. with a membership of more than 9,000. As president, Seabrook controls the union’s finances, including its welfare fund. COBA’s welfare fund, which supports benefits for members like dental care and prescription drug purchases, is funded by New York City as part of the union employees’ compensation packages.

The Trial Of Congressman Chaka Fattah, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Congressman Chaka Fattah has represented Pennsylvania’s 2nd District, which includes parts of Philadelphia, for 20 years.

On July 29, 2015, a federal Grand Jury indicted Congressman Fattah on 29 counts, including conspiracy to commit racketeering (RICO), bribery, money laundering, and fraud. The charges encompassed four co-conspirators as well, including Fattah’s chief of staff as well as a former Philadelphia deputy mayor.

Profile In Public Integrity: Robert Lafrenière, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Robert Lafrenière is the Commissioner of Quebec’s Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (l’Unité permanente anticorruption, or UPAC), which he has led since its creation in 2011. In early 2016, he was appointed to a second five-year term. Prior to UPAC, Lafrenière served for two years as Deputy Minister of Quebec’s Ministry of Public Safety (ministère de la Sécurité publique du Québec, or MSP). Earlier in his career, Lafrenière served in Quebec’s provincial police force (Sûreté du Québec), and taught policing at the Collège de Maisonneuve in Montreal.

Profile In Public Integrity: Hubert Sparks, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Hubert Sparks was appointed the first inspector general of the Appalachian Regional Commission in 1989 and was also the first inspector general of the Denali Commission. Previously, Sparks served 29 years in oversight roles at Offices of the Inspector General at the Departments of Agriculture, Homeland Security, and Veteran’s Affairs. He is a member of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency and served on the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Sparks holds a B.B.A. in accounting from the City College of New York.

Profile In Public Integrity: Josh Silver, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Josh Silver is the director of Represent.Us, a non-profit grassroots organization that advocates for anti-corruption legislation in states and local communities nationwide. Previously, he co-founded and led Free Press, a public interest organization that advocates for media and technology reform. Earlier, Silver served as the campaign manager for the successful Arizona Clean Elections ballot initiative in 1998, and also directed development for the cultural arm of the Smithsonian Institution.

Profile In Public Integrity: Drew Sullivan, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Drew Sullivan is currently an advising editor at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Program (OCCRP) in Sarajevo, which he co-founded in 2006. Previously, he founded the Center for Investigative Reporting in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Journalism Development Network. He has received many honors for his investigative reporting on issues of transnational crime and corruption, including the Global Shining Light Award and the Online Journalism Award.

Profile In Public Integrity: Jane Feldman, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Jane Feldman was recently appointed as the first executive director of the New York Assembly’s new Office of Ethics and Compliance. She previously served as the first executive director of the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission. After leaving the State of Colorado, Feldman opened Rocky Mountain Ethics Consulting, which worked with local governments to foster ethical organizational cultures. Previously, she co-founded Great Education Colorado and Colorado Protectors of Public Schools, bi-partisan organizations which advocated for increased funding of public schools. Feldman began her career as an assistant district attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office. She also served as …

Profile In Public Integrity: Matthew Boxer, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Matthew Boxer currently chairs the Corporate Investigations and Integrity practice group at Lowenstein Sandler, LLP. Previously, Boxer served six years as New Jersey’s first independent State Comptroller. In that role, he was responsible for auditing government finances, examining the efficiency of government programs, investigating misconduct by government officers, scrutinizing the legality of government contracts and recovering improperly expended Medicaid funds. Under Boxer’s leadership, the office uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars in waste and fraud.

Fighting "Small Town" Corruption: How To Obtain Accountability, Oversight, And Transparency, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Small municipalities have been the subject of numerous corruption scandals. Bell, California and Crystal City, Texas are just two of many small cities to have made their way into the national spotlight after suffering at the hands of seriously corrupt leadership.1 While news headlines often focus on issues of corruption within state or federal governments, the effects of corruption within local municipalities is equally problematic. First, there are many thousands of small cities and towns in the United States, depending on one’s definition. And these governments receive and spend billions of dollars in public funds. For obvious reasons, however, small …

A Mitigation Based Rationale For Incorporating A Climate Change Impacts Fee Into The Federal Coal Leasing Program, Michael Burger

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This paper describes the legal and policy rationale for imposing a fee on federal coal that reflects the costs of the climate change impacts generated by that coal. It notes that the federal government has a duty to mitigate climate impacts from the federal coal leasing program, and that the Department of Interior (“Interior”) and the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) have ample authority to impose a climate change impacts fee on coal leases as a form of compensatory mitigation for those coal leases. The paper also discusses technical issues that should be considered when assessing the effectiveness of this …

La Victoria De Urgenda: El Inicio De La Lucha Judicial Frente Al Cambio Climatico, Teresa Parejo Navajas

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

La Sentencia del Tribunal del Distrito de La Haya de junio de 2015, por medio de la cual se obliga al gobierno de los Países Bajos a adoptar una política de mitigación más ambiciosa, ha supuesto una noticia inesperada y valiente que, sin perjuicio de su – en algunas ocasiones – débil argumentación, supone un importantísimo avance en la lucha contra el cambio climático.

Abstract in English
The ruling of The Hague District Court of June 2015 forces the Dutch government to implement a more ambitious mitigation policy in order to comply with its duty of care. This unexpected and …

Use Cases For Eis Databases, Malanding S. Jaiteh

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

An overview of use cases supporting the development of an online database of environmental impact statements.

Hud Doesn't Need New Legislative Authority To Better Integrate Climate Change Resilience Into Its Disaster Recovery Program, Justin Gundlach, Channing R. Jones

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This article examines the interaction between the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s community development block grant disaster recovery program (CDBGDR) and the federal and state governments' resilience and climate adaptation priorities. It identifies and analyzes the statutes that have guided HUD's approach to date, by considering both key statutory language and legislative history. It also examines forms of "soft guidance" issued by HUD for use by various stakeholders, including both HUD CDBG-DR program officers and the state and local officials that interact with them. In reviewing this material, the article identifies a tension between the requirement that all …

Eis Database Technical Considerations: Geospatial, Kytt Macmanus

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This presentation outlines possible methods of adding geospatial data to a database of environmental impact statements.

Designing And Maintaining An Eis Database: Lessons Learned In Developing Library-Based Digital Repositories, Robert T. Cartolano

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

The Columbia University Libraries/Information Services (CUL/IS) have extensive experience building and maintaining systems for the discovery, access, and preservation of digital objects. This presentation discusses the lessons learned from Libraries projects and the current technologies in use for Libraries digital collections.

Using Online Databasing To Unlock The Full Value Of Environmental Impact Assessments, Jessica A. Wentz

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This paper considers how a multi-disciplinary research community can build upon these efforts to further enhance online access to EIA documents and make it easier for the public to use the information contained in those documents. Part I lays the groundwork for this inquiry: it describes the types of information contained in EIA documents and the extent to which existing online databases provide an effective means of locating and searching through these documents. Part II discusses the potential applications of the information contained in these documents, and how this might inform priorities related to online database development. Part III contemplates …

Forced Migration After Paris Cop21: Evaluating The "Climate Change Displacement Coordination Facility", Phillip Dane Warren

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Climate change represents, perhaps, the greatest challenge of the twenty-first century. As temperatures and sea levels rise, governments around the world will face massive and unprecedented human displacement that international law currently has no mechanism to address. While estimates vary, the scope of the migration crisis that the world will face in the coming decades is startling. In addition to losing their homes, climate change migrants, under current law, will encounter a refugee system governed by a decades-old Refugee Convention that offers neither protection nor the right to resettle in a more habitable place. Armed with the most recent developments …

Young Adulthood As A Transitional Legal Category: Science, Social Change, And Justice Policy, Elizabeth S. Scott, Richard J. Bonnie, Laurence Steinberg

Faculty Scholarship

In the past decade, much attention has focused on developmental brain research and its implications for the regulation of crime. Public and policy interest has been directed primarily toward juveniles. In light of recent research, courts and legislatures increasingly have rejected the punitive response of the 1990s and embraced a developmental approach to young offenders. Of particular importance in propelling this trend has been the framework offered by the U.S. Supreme Court in a series of Eighth Amendment opinions that have rejected harsh adult sentences for juveniles. These decisions, supported by adolescent brain research, rested on two empirically based principles: …

The Common Law Of Contract And The Default Rule Project, Alan Schwartz, Robert E. Scott

Faculty Scholarship

The common law developed over centuries a small set of default rules that courts have used to fill gaps in otherwise incomplete contracts between commercial parties. These rules can be applied almost independently of context: the market damages rule, for example, requires a court only to know the difference between market and contract prices. When parties in various sectors of the economy write sales contracts but leave terms blank, courts fill in the blanks with their own rules. As a consequence, a judicial rule that many parties accept must be "transcontextual": parties in varied commercial contexts accept the courts' rule …

Overcoming The Great Forgetting: A Comment On Fishkin And Forbath, Jedediah S. Purdy

Faculty Scholarship

Fishkin and Forbath’s (F&F’s) manuscript is a project of recovery. It portrays the present as a time marked by a “Great Forgetting” of a tradition of constitutional political economy. F&F name what has been forgotten the “democracy of opportunity” tradition. Recovering it would mean again treating the following three principles as linked elements at the core of our Constitution: (1) an anti-oligarchy principle that works to prevent wealth from producing grossly unequal political power; (2) a commitment to a broad middle class with secure, respected work; and (3) a principle of inclusion that opens participation in both citizenship and the …