Elizabeth accepts white collar criminal defense cases and state and federal criminal appellate cases including habeas corpus actions in the jurisdictions listed.
She is a partner in the law firm of Blume Franklin-Best & Young, LLC, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors for Justice 360, Vice-Chair of the Amicus Committee for the Fourth Circuit for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), and serves on the White Collar Crime Committee of the American Bar Association (ABA).
What is the 2018 First Step Act? It’s the most recent effort to correct the long-standing 100-1 disparity between sentencing of defendants charged with powder cocaine and defendants charged with crack cocaine in the federal courts – a difference that was never based in reality and which has disproportionately affected non-white Americans for decades. The ...
What is conspiracy in federal court? Many defendants charged with crimes in federal court also find themselves charged with conspiracy to commit federal crimes. For example: Conspiracy to commit drug trafficking; Conspiracy to commit tax fraud; Conspiracy to commit money laundering; or Conspiracy to harbor a fugitive. That last one was the subject of a ...
How is the loss amount calculated in a fraud case? What does loss amount mean in a fraud case? The loss amount, which is calculated by the prosecutor, probation agent, and contained in a defendant’s presentence report, can increase a defendant’s sentencing range by years – even decades, in some cases. If the loss amount ...
In Annamalai Annamalai v. Warden, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the defendant’s convictions for bankruptcy fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, although additional bank fraud, tax fraud, perjury, and obstruction convictions were affirmed. The court of appeals also found that Annamalai’s loss amount was not proven by the government. The trial court sentenced ...
Is it always okay for the government to estimate restitution amounts? When is close enough for government work not close enough for government work? When you’re a prosecutor who calculated a defendant’s restitution amount, it comes to $3,461,638, you acknowledge it’s not the right dollar amount, and you just don’t care. In U.S. v. Sheffield, ...
A district court in Indiana has issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement of Indiana’s ban on smokable hemp, finding that the smokable hemp ban is unconstitutional because it violates the Supremacy Clause and the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution. It is not a final determination on the merits, but the Court found that the ...
