Articles

The theme of this week’s legal report is liberty and is dedicated to the writings of Thomas Jefferson Supreme Court filings:  “He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.”  We filed this amicus brief in Yates v. United States.  In this case, ...

This week, Pacific Legal Foundation filed a friend of the court brief at the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of a Florida fisherman named John Yates.  Mr. Yates, a grandfather and commercial fishing boat captain for hire, found himself reeled in by a federal government in an overzealous prosecution.  The government took … ...

Government Overreach and Overcharging — Fishing for Prison Time PLF, on behalf of itself and several commercial fishing organizations across the United States, filed this amicus brief at the United States Supreme Court this week in Yates v. United States.  This is the case where a fisherman is said to have destroyed evidence in violation o ...

Overcriminalization and the fishy abuse of Sarbanes-Oxley The United States Supreme Court issued a good decision in Yates v. United States, in favor of fisherman John Yates.  As described in our blog,  because Yates threw some undersized fish overboard after an inspection, Yates was charged with violating the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, a post-Enron st ...