“Silencing a Watchdog: Government Seeks to Muzzle Amicus in John Edwards Prosecution”

Anthony J. Franze & R. Stanton Jones have written this interesting piece, which begins: “In an unusual move, the United States—by far the most frequent amicus curiae in the federal courts—has sought to block the filing of a lone friend-of-the-court brief supporting former presidential candidate John Edwards’s motion to dismiss the government’s controversial criminal case against him. The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a government watchdog group aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability in government, moved to file an amicus brief arguing that illicit payments allegedly made by third parties to Edwards’s mistress did not violate the campaign finance laws and that such charges dilute and diminish laws aimed at punishing government corruption.”

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