Michael Emory Clark's Answers

Mark Cuban insider trading- can his own words be used against him?

Yes. Note that the insider trading charges in this case are civil in nature. Unless a person is very careful about trying to maintain his or her right not to have his or her statements used against them in a court based on some available privilege, such statements are fair game. I just finished participating in an interview this afternoon on Fox News in which Cuban's attorney appeared. It will be interesting to see how this case plays out. The defense seems to have a multi-tiered approach,...

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Hiring a tax attorney in Seattle to handle tax evasion matter, self employed person has not paid income tax for 20 years

While I echo the earlier response, the basic problem is that this could easily result in a federal criminal case and a significant period of incarceration in addition to the various penalties and interest that could be assessed in this situation. The U.S. Department of Justice provides a lot of information about tax crimes and other federal offenses in what is known as the U.S. Attorney's Manual, a multi-volume set of resources which is publicly available and indexed on the website. Most of the...

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Doctor refuses to release medical records because of unpaid bill, what can I do

In addition to the prior part of the answer, please note that the Texas Administrative Code provision that I hyperlinked states, in relevant part, the following: (h) Improper Withholding for Past Due Accounts. Medical and/or billing records requested pursuant to a proper request for release may not be withheld from the patient, the patient's authorized agent, or the patient's designated recipient for such records based on a past due account for medical care or treatment previously rendered...

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Doctor refuses to release medical records because of unpaid bill, what can I do

This surprises me in light of the facts that you set out. The Texas Medical Board posts information on its website about aspects of this issue, including the rights of patients to access their records, reasonable fees, etc. In pertinent part, the webpage which is linked below, explains "State law [Medical Practice Act, Section 5.08(K)] allows a patient to obtain a copy of his records, or ask that a copy be sent to a new doctor or someone else, such as an insurance company," and, more directly, "...

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Cooperate Law

Like many things in law, in order to accurately answer this question requires a factual analysis, including: (1) what jurisdiction(s) may be involved (since the laws differ from state-to-state) and (2) under what circumstances was the recording made and by whom (for example, a court-authorized wiretap under Title III allows law enforcement agents to surreptitiously conduct undercover operations including recording of certain conversations -- subject to some restrictions, such as eavesdropping...

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Need a Federal Public Defender, want to fire my paid attorney

In federal drug conspiracy cases, the public defender's office will often be conflicted from representing more than one person because of conflict of interest issues inherent with multiple representations. Some attorneys agree to take court appointed cases under the Criminal Justice Act. Your case presents some real logistical problems. Wanting an attorney appointed near the eve of trial because you are dissatisfied with your privately retained counsel doesn't mean you are going to be able...

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Pornography

Technically, there is an issue about whether the deleted files are actually deleted because a lot of material on a computer can be retrieved fairly easily at times, even if deleted, unless the hard disk is reformatted. There are federal statutes that can be used to prosecute possession of child pornography, among other related conduct. The U.S. Department of Justice considers these violations to be quite serious. In your description, the fact that you deleted it immediately would be a strong...

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FDA Rules for pharmaceutical reps who divert prescription samples or take prescription samples from doctor's offices.

The general statute of limitations for most federal crimes is five years, with a few notable exceptions, such as tax cases and RICO cases. Ordinarily, that five years is measured from the last act which constitutes a violation. In this case, it may be a bit hard to exactly pinpoint that date, but it's likely somewhere in the three year window you mentioned. Title 21 of the United States Code, Section 353 governs what can and cannot lawfully be done as to the drug samples. There are also...

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Stanford Capital Management fraud

To the extent that there is an asset freeze, the pool of funds that are going to be available for investors will be overseen by the SEC and its agents. Basically, it is a get in line situation for many investors but there's always some benefit from having an informed representative to help interface and explain the workings of the system when so much is at stake.

What is the procedure for catching up on back taxes owed

In addition to the answer provided by my colleague, it is important to realize that while the failure to file returns is a federal misdemeanor (as is a failure to pay), the continued failure to properly account for and pay taxes can viewed as a felony evasion violation if enough "intent" evidence can be developed by the IRS. The initial goal, of course, is to avoid any criminal charges -- which is why resolving the problem as soon as possible is important. As the old adage points out, there are...

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