Jimmie “Chris” Duncan was released on bail last month after 27 years on death row at Louisiana’s Angola prison following a wrongful conviction for a crime that never occurred.  In May 2025, Judge Alvin Sharp of the 4th Judicial District in Ouachita Parish ruled that clear and convincing evidence proves Mr. Duncan is factually innocent in the alleged murder of Haley Oliveaux, a charge that was based entirely on junk science proffered by discredited [...]

Two Ballard Spahr lawyers share red flags and diligence tips to help reduce risk when high-growth startups mislead stakeholders. High-growth startups inspire a lot of excitement, and increasingly, a lot of scrutiny. Over the past several years, federal prosecutors have brought headline-grabbing cases against startup founders who were once viewed as visionaries. That's obviously not great for the founder, but these cases can also cause economic and reputational issues for other stakeholders in the company, including investors. Even if the investor won't be subject [...]

A recent indictment underscores the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ")'s focus on cybersecurity compliance in federal contracting and DOJ's willingness to escalate enforcement beyond the civil False Claims Act (see Foley's prior reporting here and here) to bring criminal charges against individuals. On December 10, 2025, DOJ announced that a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia has indicted Danielle Hillmer, a former senior manager at a Virginia‑based government contractor, on charges of major government fraud, wire fraud, [...]