Posts by Lee Koch

Under the federal Bank Secrecy Act, banks must report deposits, withdrawals, or transfers of more than $10,000. This doesn’t mean it’s illegal to make them, only that the federal government gets an alert when they see you do it.  Some people try to divide up their transactions in an effort to evade the requirement. Some…

Upon a defense lawyer’s request, federal law requires prosecutors to give the defense copies of all the materials and evidence they intend to use at trial. This includes any evidence which may tend to support the defendant’s innocence, called exculpatory evidence.  Federal prosecutors have an obligation to disclose exculpatory evidence whether or not the defense…

A geofence warrant is a warrant that goes to any company capable of tracking your location data through your cellphone.  Law enforcement gets a warrant from a judge, then serves it to Google or Apple. The warrant specifies a physical location and a time period.  The company then gathers information about all the devices that…

Lying to federal agents is against the law, and the 5th Amendment will not protect you if you choose to do it. Under the 5th Amendment, you have the right to avoid incriminating yourself. At least, that’s the simplified version of the 5th Amendment you read about in novels and see on television. The reality…

Polygraphs are notorious for being “junk science.” The technology behind them hasn’t been updated since the 1950s, and they are only 80% to 90% accurate.  In fact, some experts say they don’t measure lies. They measure stress. Fear. Anxiety. In fact, the APA would tell you that’s all the machine is. A fear detector. In…

A proposed rule would allow immigration officials to collect DNA from detainees. This information is then placed in a national criminal database. This decision will impact 748,000 migrants. Prior to the passage of this rule, the FBI was already collecting DNA from anyone who had been arrested, charged, or convicted of serious crimes.  If the…

On November 2, 2018, the United States Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Curtis Giovanni Flowers. Flowers was accused of murdering four employees of a Mississippi furniture store.  After three separate trials where he was convicted, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the conviction and remanded the matter back to the lower court, where he then…