Going Overboard: U.S. v. Yates and DOJ’s “Most Serious Offense” Charging Policy

Will Courts Embrace DOJ’s New Definition of Willfulness for False Statement Prosecutions?

By Scott A. Coffina, a partner with the law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath in its Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. offices. Among the most sweeping tools in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) vast arsenal for prosecuting criminal activity is the false statements statute, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1001.  Under...