Fox Rothschild: The Presumption of Innocence

Episode 63 Enforcement Priorities of the Second Trump Administration: The False Claims Act The Deputy Attorney General of the United States has made it clear that the Department of Justice intends to enforce the False Claims Act (FCA) in a way it never has before: in the pursuit of civil rights fraud. Listen as host Matt Adams is joined by his Fox colleagues Jana Volante Walshak and Kevin Raphael...

Episode 62 The Tragic Toll of Conspiracy Theories: The Seth Rich Story A violent, unsolved murder of an up-and-coming young professional in our nation’s capital. A grieving family in the Midwest. And conspiracy theories both ignited and inflamed by politics. Listen in as investigative journalist Andy Kroll returns to the podcast to dive into his book, “A Death on W Street: The Murder of Seth Rich...

Episode 61 A Call to Service: From Public Duty to Spiritual Advocacy Father Joseph Ciccone's mission to serve the public has been an unwavering and guiding force throughout his life. He’s held many titles over the years: Police Officer. Teacher. Detective. Bergen County Sheriff. Priest. But the title that brings him to the podcast today is that of convicted felon. Father Joe joins host Matt Adams...

Episode 60 Enforcement Priorities of the Second Trump Administration: Employee Retention Tax Credit Five years and two presidential administrations later, tensions remain — with the IRS and tax credit applicants — over the pandemic-era Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERC). While the IRS has been continuing a Biden-era restrictive policy, a new mandate may be coming when a new IRS Commissioner is co...

Episode 59 Enforcement Priorities of the Second Trump Administration: DOJ Focus While President Trump’s first administration focused on reshaping the judiciary, he’s indicated a priority of his second administration will be reshaping the federal justice system. In this episode, reporter Andy Kroll and host Matt Adams explore the commonalities among recent U.S. Attorney appointments and how these n...

Episode 58 Enforcement Priorities of the Second Trump Administration: IRS Investigations What’s on the Trump administration’s agenda when it comes to federal investigations? Listen to the first in a series of episodes aimed at answering that question. Former IRS Special Agent Jonathan Schnatz joins host Matt Adams to discuss his experience as world events and changing presidential administrations...

Episode 57 Wired for Truth: The Art & Science of Polygraphs The polygraph test: We’ve all seen it used in popular movies, but what is it the truth behind how it’s used in the criminal justice system? Jerry Lewis, a retired New Jersey State Police lieutenant who’s been administering polygraphs since 1981, joins host Matt Adams to peer inside the mechanics of the test. They explore the science a...

Episode 56 A Strategic Gamble: The Risks, Costs and Rewards of Going to Trial Statistics weigh heavily against defendants in the criminal justice system. Only 0.4% were acquitted after trial in federal cases during fiscal year 2022. In this latest podcast episode, host Matt Adams is joined by firm colleague Patrick Egan, whom Matt describes as “the type of trial lawyer you go to when your only opt...

Episode 55 The Power of the Presidential Pardon: Traditions and Turning Points Recent presidential pardons by both sides of the political aisle are unprecedented in their purposes, which were wielded both to reward and protect. That’s according to Rachel Barkow, Charles Seligson Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Zimroth Center on the Administration of Criminal Law at New York University...

Episode 54 The Flaws of FARA: Feeble Oversight of Billions in Foreign Influence Journey back in time as we explore the origins of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) — and trace its impact on reshaping the public image of some of the most corrupt foreign entities over the past 50 years. Author Casey Michel returns to the podcast to join host Matt Adams to discuss Foreign Agents: How America...

Episode 53 Diagnosis: Innocent A Doctor’s Journey to Acquittal For six and a half years, Dr. Muhamad Aly Rifai, a physician from Easton, Pa., lived in fear and anxiety that life as he knew it was over. A leader in telehealth psychiatric services since the early 2000s, Dr. Rifai was charged with fraudulently billing more than $1 million to Medicare, stemming from his practice treating elderly patie...

Episode 52 Engineered for Injustice: How Coerced Pleas Trap the Innocent Rodney Roberts was given a total of 25 minutes to make a life-altering decision. In custody, isolated from family and advised by a public defender to plead guilty to lesser charges in a crime he did not commit, Rodney succumbed to fear and pressure, and agreed to the terms. In this wrenching episode, Rodney joins host Matt Ad...

Episode 51 A Higher Duty of Care: Representing Clients Living With Mental Illness The defense of clients experiencing mental health issues is one of the most challenging and nuanced aspects of criminal law. An estimated one-third to one-half of incarcerated individuals live with some form of mental illness and often find themselves at the mercy of a criminal justice system that offers little relie...

Episode 50 Hidden in Plain Sight: How Kleptocrats Exploit U.S. Financial Systems The shadowy finances that fueled the 9/11 terrorist attacks cut a somber scar into America. Despite the anti-money laundering initiatives woven in the Patriot Act, that wound continues to fester, according to Casey Michel, who suggests U.S. federal and state systems make America a cooperative collaborator in the money...

Episode 49 Perspectives From the Bench: Anatomy of a Criminal Trial With Retired Judge Margaret Foti The Honorable Margaret Foti, formerly the Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Bergen County, joins host Matt Adams to examine the state’s criminal trial process from the view of the bench. From arrest to sentencing, the two discuss a wide range of topics in...

Episode 48 Digital Boundaries: Fourth Amendment Protections in a Connected World Modern technology is testing the limits of the Fourth Amendment and redefining the parameters of privacy. Michael Price, Litigation Director of the Fourth Amendment Center at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, joins host Matt Adams to dive into some of the most pressing issues at the intersection of...

Episode 47 Fireside Chat With Bill Baroni and Jesse Eisinger Recorded at our 2024 White-Collar Symposium held in Philadelphia last month, this special episode dives into the landscape of white-collar criminal prosecution from the perspectives of Bill Baroni and Jesse Eisinger. Both former podcast guests, Bill and Jesse provide Matt Adams with insight into their personal experiences with the presum...

Episode 46 America’s Incarceration Industry: Exposing Private Prisons Peer into the world of prison profiteers with Shane Bauer. Shane’s name may sound familiar. In 2009, he and two friends were hiking near the Iraq-Iran border when they were arrested by Iranian authorities, accused of espionage and imprisoned for more than two years. Extensive international pressure and diplomatic efforts ultimat...

Episode 45 The Grit, Grace and Gift of Second Chances What’s it like when the FBI knocks at your door? Justin Paperny shares his journey from that fateful day in April 2005 to his 18-month sentence in federal prison as a convicted felon and an encounter with a fellow incarcerated person that changed the trajectory of his life. Justin joins host Matt Adams for an episode detailing how that unexpect...

Is the IRS prepping a legal stew for business that filed for Employee Retention Credit (ERC) relief? Host Matt Adams invites Fox Rothschild partner Elizabeth Blickley into the proverbial kitchen for this episode. They discuss where the program currently stands and how, nearly a year to the day since the ERC moratorium was put in place by the IRS, some companies’ relief claims are being put on the...

From circuit courts to the Supreme Court, rulings from appellate courts have turned some tried-and-true principles of law on their head in 2024. How have the decisions affected the practice of white-collar criminal defense law? Morgan McCall Reece, a former state and federal prosecutor who recently joined Fox Rothschild, digs into these cases with host Matt Adams. Listen as Morgan offers a valuabl...

Episode 42 AI in Criminal Justice: Opportunity or Opportunity for Misuse? Can artificial intelligence be a positive, productive tool in criminal justice or are its flaws and the opportunity for misuse too great? Host Matt Adams covers these issues and more with Pramod Kunju, a Data Analytics & AI entrepreneur with a master’s degree in criminal justice who wrote the book, "Artificial Intelligen...

Episode 41 The Dynamics of Decision-Making: Psychology and the Criminal Justice System Human errors can irrevocably alter the course of someone’s life in the criminal justice system. In a fascinating follow-up to Episode 40 on the role of pseudoscience in the courtroom, Dan Simon joins host Matt Adams to dissect Dan’s book, In Doubt: The Psychology of the Criminal Process. Dan, who is also the Ric...

Episode 40 Debunking Courtroom Pseudoscience: A Conversation With the Innocence Project's Chris Fabricant It’s a sense of outrage that gets him out of bed every morning, says M. Chris Fabricant, Director of Strategic Litigation at the Innocence Project. Approximately 2.3 million people are incarcerated at any given time in the United States. Estimates put the number of wrongfully convicted at up t...

Episode 39 Unthreading the Silk Road: A Conversation With Author Nick Bilton A marketplace of drugs, guns and murder for hire. Journalist and author Nick Bilton explored the illicit web-based market the Silk Road in his page-turner, American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road. In this engaging episode, he joins host Matt Adams to dig into how he conceptualized,...