Women Criminal Defense Attorneys: Patricia Millett Takes Center Stage in Landmark Insider Trading Case

Attorney Patricia Millett, a partner and head of the Supreme Court practice and national appellate practice for Akin Gump in Washington, D.C., took center stage in one of this country’s most significant white-collar criminal cases.  Millett has extensive appellate experience and has argued before the United States Supreme Court 31 times, in addition to 36 times in courts of appeal across the county. These are impressive stats for any lawyer.  Just last year, Millett spearheaded the appeal of the conviction and sentence of Raj Rajaratnam of the Galleon Group in the United States Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit.  United States v. Rajaratnam is one of this country’s most recognizable insider trading cases out of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The issues in the Rajaratnam appeal will likely have a significant impact on white-collar prosecutions to come-- which had rarely involved wiretap evidence until recently. In the Rajaratnam trial the wiretap evidence played a major role in the Government’s case which ultimately ended in conviction. Rajaratnam received an 11-year sentence, the longest sentence ever imposed in an insider trading case.

One of the most important issues in the appeal relates to the introduction of wiretap evidence during the trial.  Critical information was withheld from the district judge during the wiretap application process, specifically the existence of a parallel civil investigation that was being conducted by the SEC, which is at the heart of the challenge. One of the key questions is whether or not the wiretap application met the necessity standard required by the federal wire tap act which demands that the Government provide a complete and full statement demonstrating that other investigative avenues have been exhausted or unlikely to succeed.  Wiretaps are traditionally used in organized crime and drug cases.  This case marked one of the rare circumstances that wiretaps were used in a white-collar investigation. Typically white-collar cases have other civil enforcement actions that can be used to advance criminal investigations, which otherwise would not be available-- for example, in a drug offense.  If standards are loosened to allow the Government to freely obtain wiretaps, a dangerous floodgate will open for future white-collar investigations and prosecutions.

In addition to the Rajaratnam case, this specific wiretap led to many other prosecutions, including Rajat Gupta of Goldman Sachs, and resulted in countless guilty pleas that will remain unchallenged thanks to the typical appellate waiver contained in a Government plea agreement.  One of the challenges in the Rajat Gupta appeal is not surprisingly the introduction of the wiretap evidence during his trial that ultimately ended in conviction. In an unexpected turn of events, the United Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit granted Gupta a bond pending appeal, in spite of the fact that the trial court denied his request for bond. In order for the appellate court to grant bond they must find that a meritorious and non-frivolous appellate issue exists that could possibly result in the conviction being overturned.  It is unclear whether this foreshadows the appellate court’s potential ruling.  It is clear that any ruling in Rajaratnam will have a direct bearing on the Gupta appeal.

During argument before the Second Circuit panel, Patricia Millett pointed out that Rajaratnam’s case was the first time a wiretap was used in an insider trading investigation during the 75 year history of securities laws and denounced the wiretap as being riddled with error.  The Second Circuit has yet to rule but that ruling will serve to send a clear message about the use of wiretaps in future white-collar investigations and prosecutions.  More importantly, this case has a direct impact on the constitutional rights of every citizen of this country.  Patricia Millett acts as a critical voice against Government intrusion into our private conversations and is a true champion of our constitutional rights. Stay tuned!