Tales from the Darkside – Masha Allen

This is a story which sadly never goes away or gets better. The ever-excellent Pound Pup Legacy recently published this sobering exposé related by a friend of Masha Allen: I met Masha when I was in the 5th grade. She was awkward, like me. We became very close along with another girl. At first she did not open up about her past. We would talk about normal girl things. My best memory of Masha is when we used to steal pickles from lunch (the lunch ladies only allowed us 4). It sounds odd but it really helped us connect. We even wrote a silly story about it. From there, She explained to me she was from Russia and came to the US at a very young age. She ...

SEEKING JUSTICE FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY VICTIMS:
Marsh Law Firm Teams up with Freeman Lewis LLP in Novel Federal Lawsuit Under Masha’s Law

Marsh Law Firm PLLC partnered with Freeman Lewis LLC to file a lawsuit today on behalf of a victim of child pornography seeking damages from a defendant who was convicted of transporting child pornography in violation of federal criminal law. The civil lawsuit, “Amy” v. Joshua Osmun Kennedy, was filed in the federal district court for the Western District of Washington. The civil complaint seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as costs and attorneys’ fees under 18 U.S.C. § 2255 (Masha’s Law) and 18 U.S.C. § 2252A. To protect the victim’s privacy, a motion was filed to permit the plaintiff to proceed under ...

Adoption Practices and Islamic Principles

A new effort by the Muslim Women's Shura Council aims to address the complex issue of adoption and Islamic law. The Shura Council is a global initiative composed of Muslim women scholars, activists, and specialists dedicated to connecting Islamic principles to strategies for social change. A new white paper and brochure by the Council explores the concerns of Muslims interested in adoption and identifies what it means to serve "the best interest of the child" according to Islamic principles. Adoption in Islam is complex given the religion's guidelines pertaining to naming and inheritance, and the Council suggests that current misconcept...

Amicus Support Victim Restitution – Brief Filed in Supreme Court

Today, the National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI) moved for leave to file, as amicus curiae, this brief in support of the Marsh Law Firm's recent Petition for a Writ of Certiorari concerning whether the Mandatory Restitution for Sexual Exploitation of Children Statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2259, excuses a defendant from paying restitution for the itemized loss categories unless there is proof that the victim’s losses were the proximate result of an individual defendant’s child pornography crime. NCVLI is a nonprofit educational and advocacy organization located at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. NCVLI’s mission is to ...

DOJ Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence Presents Final Recommendations

The Attorney General's Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence has released its final recommendations for a national response to address children’s exposure to violence. The report emphasizes prevention and intervention and underscores the importance of trauma-informed care and victim-tailored services. The task force calls on the federal government, states, tribes, and communities to ensure that all children exposed to violence are identified, screened, and assessed; to create multidisciplinary councils to facilitate systemwide collaboration; to involve men and boys as critical partners in preventing violence; and to help, not punish, child ...

Restitution for Child Victims Returns to the Supreme Court

Last week, the Marsh Law Firm, along with co-counsel Paul G. Cassell and Carol L. Hepburn, filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court. Almost 20 years ago, Congress enacted the Mandatory Restitution for Sexual Exploitation of Children Statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2259, to benefit victims of federal child pornography crimes, including petitioners like Amy and Vicky, whose child sex abuse images are traded and collected over the internet by countless individuals worldwide. The statute provides in part that a court “shall order restitution” for a victim of any child pornography crime in “the full amount of ...

United States Sentencing Commission Appoints James R. Marsh to the Victims Advisory Group

Earlier today, the United States Sentencing Commission appointed James R. Marsh as a member of the Victims Advisory Group (VAG) to a term ending December 1, 2015. The United States Sentencing Commission is an independent agency in the judicial branch of government. Its principal purposes are to: establish sentencing policies and practices for the federal courts, including guidelines to be consulted regarding the appropriate form and severity of punishment for offenders convicted of federal crimes; advise and assist Congress and the executive branch in the development of effective and efficient crime policy; and collect, analyze, research, and ...

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