Womble Bond Dickinson partner Luke Cass is a central voice in a recent Anti-Corruption Report article on the Rovirosa reversal, contributing commentary that shapes the article’s discussion of the decision and its implications.

The article examines a rare decision in which a federal judge overturned an FCPA jury conviction, highlighting significant constitutional issues. The court found that introducing translated messages without allowing cross-examination of the translators violated the defendant’s Sixth Amendment rights.

“‘Cross-border cases that hinge on foreign-language messages can rise or fall on whether the government can present (and defend) the translation and the underlying data the way the Constitution requires,’ Cass stated. The case meaningfully impacts trial risk ‘in the slice of cases where the government relies on foreign language messages rather than first-hand witness testimony,’ he said. It shows that ‘when evidence and defendants are located abroad, the government has a more limited set of tools.’”

Continue reading the full article as featured in Anti-Corruption Report here (subscription required.)