New York Paralegal Blog

The United States, a nation historically shaped by immigration, maintains a comprehensive legal framework governing entry into the country. While the motivations for seeking a new life in the U.S. are often deeply compelling, it is critical to understand that circumventing official ports of entry and established procedures is a violation of federal law. This act, commonly referred to as "illegal entry," carries significant civil and criminal consequences under the United States Code. The legal ramifications become even more severe for those who re-enter after being formally deported. The Initial Offense: Improper Entry At the core of this issue is Section 1325 of Title 8 of the United States Code (8 U.S.C. § 1325), titled "Improper entry by alien." This statute explicitly makes it a federal offense to enter or attempt to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers. This includes crossing the border betwee...

By: Joel Irving  The America of the 1940s and 50s often evokes a nostalgic image of booming industry, white picket fences, and a sense of unified national pride. However, a closer examination of the workforce during this era, particularly before the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, reveals a landscape starkly defined by racial and gender segregation. Opportunities in prominent sectors like banking, law, and healthcare were overwhelmingly dictated by these demographic lines, painting a picture far removed from the idealized visions some may hold. Banks: A Male, Pale Domain Step into a typical bank in the pre-Civil Rights era, and the scene would have been overwhelmingly white and male, especially in customer-facing and managerial roles. While women, predominantly white women, were present, they were largely confined to clerical positions – tellers, secretaries, and bookkeepers – with limited avenues for advancement. African Americans and other minority groups faced even greater e...

 A former Killen, Alabama, Police Department (KPD) officer was sentenced today in the Northern District of Alabama to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman while on duty and for receiving sexually explicit photos of a minor. According to documents filed in connection with this case, on Nov. 12, 2023, KPD Officer Jarrod Gailen Webster violated the civil rights of a woman after initiating a traffic stop on the woman’s vehicle. Webster asked the woman to step out of her vehicle and asked her what she wanted to do to “get out of this.” When the woman told Webster that she was not going to do anything for him, Webster handcuffed the woman and sexually assaulted her. Further, between June 2016 and October 2018, Webster communicated with a minor by phone, and he asked the minor to produce and send him sexually explicit images. The minor victim sent multiple photos to Webster at his request, at least one of which constituted child sexual abuse material. Webster pleaded guilty ...

Here's an argument against eliminating DEI initiatives and civil rights protections, emphasizing historical context:  * Post-Civil War Amendments: The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were designed to abolish slavery and grant Black Americans citizenship and voting rights. However, these legal guarantees did not translate into genuine equality.  * Rise of Jim Crow: Southern states enacted Jim Crow laws, enforcing segregation in schools, transportation, housing, and all aspects of public life. These laws, along with violence and intimidation, systematically disenfranchised and oppressed Black Americans.  * "Separate but Equal": The Supreme Court's Plessy v. Ferguson decision (1896) upheld segregation, codifying the idea that "separate but equal" facilities were constitutional. This doctrine legitimized racial inequality for decades. The Need for Continued Action:  * Lingering Disparities: Even with landmark civil rights legislation like the Civil R...

URBANA, Ill. - BASF Corporation will pay $500,000 to settle a retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Cognis Corporation, the EEOC announced today. BASF acquired Cognis in 2010.

WASHINGTON—Global health care giant GlaxoSmithKline LLC (GSK) agreed to plead guilty and to pay $3 billion to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from the company’s unlawful promotion of certain prescription drugs, its failure to report certain safety data, and its civil liability for alleged false price reporting practices, the Justice Department announced today. The resolution is the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history and the largest payment ever by a drug company.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Stuart F. Delery, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Helen Kanovsky, General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), and David A. Montoya, Inspector General of HUD, announced today that the United States has settled a civil fraud lawsuit against DEUTSCHE BANK AG, DB STRUCTURED PRODUCTS, INC., DEUTSCHE BANK SECURITIES, INC. (collectively “DEUTSCHE BANK” or the “DEUTSCHE BANK defendants”) and MORTGAGEIT, INC. (“MORTGAGEIT”).

Global Health Care Company Abbott Laboratories Inc. has pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $1.5 billion to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from the company’s unlawful promotion of the prescription drug Depakote for uses not approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Justice Department announced today.

NEW YORK—A motion was filed today amending the forfeiture and civil money laundering complaint in the matter of United States v. PokerStars et. al, announced Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The proposed amended complaint alleges that Full Tilt Poker and its board of directors, including Raymond Bitar, Howard Lederer, Christopher Ferguson, and Rafael Furst,

LAREDO, Texas – Briggs Equipment, Inc., a Dallas-based company and one of North America’s largest industrial and construction equipment distributors, will pay a former employee $112,000 and furnish other relief to settle a race discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

WASHINGTON – Caterpillar Inc. has agreed to pay a $2.55 million civil penalty to settle alleged Clean Air Act violations for shipping more than 590,000 highway and non-road engines without the correct emissions controls, the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.   Caterpillar also allegedly failed to comply with emission control reporting and engine-labeling requirements.   Engines operating without proper emissions controls can emit excess nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter and other air pollutants that impact people’s health, potentially causing respiratory illnesses and aggravating asthma.  

NEW YORK – The United States has filed a civil mortgage fraud lawsuit against Deutsche Bank AG and its wholly owned subsidiary, MortgageIT Inc.  The government’s complaint seeks damages and civil penalties under the False Claims Act for repeated false certifications made to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in connection with the residential mortgage origination and sponsorship practices of MortgageIT.  To date, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has paid insurance claims on more than 3,100 mortgages, totaling $386 million, for mortgages endorsed by MortgageIT.   Today’s announcement was made by Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division; Helen Kanovsky, General Counsel of HUD; and Michael P. Stephens, Acting Inspector General of HUD.   According to the government’s complaint filed today in Manhattan federal cour...

WASHINGTON – BP Exploration Alaska, Inc. (BP Alaska) will pay a $25 million civil penalty and carry out a system-wide pipeline integrity management program as part of a settlement for spilling more than 5,000 barrels of crude oil from the company’s pipelines on the North Slope of Alaska in 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced today.  The penalty is the largest per-barrel penalty to date for an oil spill.    “This penalty should serve as a wake-up call to all pipeline operators that they will be held accountable for the safety of their operations and their compliance with the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act and the pipeline safety laws,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice.  “Companies l...

The manufacturer of Rascal Scooters, used by disabled and senior consumers with limited mobility, will pay $100,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it illegally called millions of consumers who had chosen to avoid unwanted telemarketing calls by listing their phone numbers on the national Do Not Call Registry. The FTC alleges the firm illegally used phone numbers gathered from sweepstakes entry forms to contact consumers whose numbers are on the Registry. The FTC’s complaint charges scooter manufacturer Electric Mobility Corporation and its owner Michael Flowers with making more than three million illegal sales calls since 2003 to consumers on the Do Not Call Registry who had entered the company’s “Win a Free Rascal” sweepstakes. According to the FTC, in small print under the part of the sweepstakes form provided for the entrant’s phone number, EMC reminded consumers to list their numbers so the company could contact them if they were “the next lucky winner.” EMC en...

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today the arrest of Russell County Sheriff’s Office Detectives Kirby Dollar, 37, and Timothy Watford, 42. A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Ala., returned an indictment on March 22, 2011, charging Dollar and Watford with civil rights offenses related to their assault of a man in custody on Nov. 26, 2010. If convicted, the defendants face maximum penalties of 10 years in prison on the civil rights charges. The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Home Improvement Giant Subjected Young Workers to Physical and Verbal Abuse, Retaliation SEATTLE - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a major settlement of a discrimination lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act against Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, Inc. for $1.72 million and significant remedial relief on behalf of three employees in their twenties who were subjected to a pervasive sexually hostile work environment and retaliated against for complaining about it. The former employees, two young men and one woman, were subjected to widespread and repeated sexual harassment by male and female managers and coworkers at a Lowe's store in Longview, Wash., according to the EEOC. The sexually hostile workplace, which endured for more than six months, included physical and verbal abuse which culminated in one instance of sexual assault. Among the many allegations in the litigation (Civ. No. CV08-331 JCC in U.S. District Court for t...