4th Circuit Court

eBay Owes $30M for ‘Buy It Now’ Patent Infringement

A $30 million payday is pending for a Virginia company that owns a patent on the “Buy It Now” mechanism that allows online eBay auction bidders the alternative of purchasing an item immediately at a preset price. A federal judge in Norfolk, Va., declined yesterday to overturn a previous jury…

Dec 12, 2007 10:43 PM CST

Terrorism Judge Warns Government About Wiretap Secrecy

The federal judge who presided over the trial of confessed terrorism conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui appeared to be out of patience with the government yesterday in a hearing in another terrorism case. Judge Leonie Brinkema of Alexandria, Va., said she might order a new trial for Islamic scholar Ali al-Timimi, convicted…

Nov 21, 2007 1:59 PM CST

Louis Vuitton Wins Hummer-Dinger Suit, Ruffed Up by Parody Ruling

Music lost and humor won in two recent rulings in lawsuits filed by Louis Vuitton. The luxury goods maker succeeded in getting a Britney Spears video showing Vuitton-like fabric pulled from the Internet but lost an infringement suit against “Chewy Vuiton” dog toys. Spears’ “Do Somethin’ ” video features a…

Nov 20, 2007 6:17 PM CST

4th Circuit Nominee Sued for Defamation

Updated: A lawyer nominated to the Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has been sued for defamation for allegedly trying to deflect blame for a botched appeal. The suit against E. Duncan Getchell Jr. claims the nominee led a team of lawyers that failed to file a transcript…

Nov 19, 2007 1:54 PM CST

Lawyer-Turned-Secretary Takes McGuireWoods Suit to Trial

A lawyer-turned-legal secretary who is suing McGuireWoods claims in a Maryland trial now under way that she was illegally fired for taking time off to care for her ailing mother. Nancy Adair said in her 2006 lawsuit that at the time of her firing she was working for Joseph Tirone…

Nov 14, 2007 3:45 PM CST

Moussaoui Judge Not Told of Recorded Al-Qaida Interrogations

Prosecutors have disclosed the CIA has video and audio recordings of interrogations of three senior al-Qaida officials. Prosecutors say in a court filing made public yesterday that the judge who presided over the trial of terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui was misinformed about the recordings, McClatchy Newspapers reports. The CIA’s possession of…

Nov 14, 2007 12:24 PM CST

U.S. Secretary of State is Subpoenaed

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, among other American intelligence officials, has been subpoenaed to appear as a witness in a federal espionage case against pro-Israeli lobbyists. Accused of receiving classified terrorism-related information from a Pentagon official who has already been convicted and relaying it to an Israeli official and…

Nov 2, 2007 7:40 PM CDT

Abortion Law Back Before 4th Circuit

A federal appeals court heard arguments yesterday on whether Virginia’s ban on so-called partial-birth abortions is unconstitutional. At issue is whether the state law is more restrictive than the federal law upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court this spring in Gonzales v. Carhart, the Washington Post reports. After the decision,…

Nov 2, 2007 5:50 PM CDT

Marine’s Dad Gets $11M for Funeral Picketing

In a verdict that is sure to catch the attention of First Amendment advocates, a federal jury in Baltimore has awarded $2.9 million in compensatory damages and $8 million in punitive damages to a father of a fallen Marine whose funeral was picketed by members of a fringe Kansas church.…

Oct 31, 2007 11:48 PM CDT

Full 4th Circuit Hears ‘Enemy Combatant’ Case

Whether the president has the power to hold a legal U.S. resident in military custody as a so-called enemy combatant is being argued today before the full 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel of the Richmond, Va.-based 4th Circuit ruled in June that the president does not,…

Oct 31, 2007 7:23 PM CDT

Church on Trial for ‘Thank God For Dead Soldiers’ Funeral Protest

The father of a marine killed in Iraq is seeking damages from a church that sponsored a protest at his son’s funeral in a federal trial now under way in Baltimore. Albert Snyder’s suit claims invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress, the New York Times reports. The…

Oct 26, 2007 2:36 PM CDT

Judge Dismisses Privacy Suit Against Banking Co-op

A federal judge in Virginia has dismissed a privacy lawsuit against a Belgian banking cooperative accused of divulging private information to help the United States track terrorist funding. Judge T. S. Ellis III of Alexandria ruled Friday that the plaintiffs had no standing to bring the suit against the cooperative,…

Oct 22, 2007 6:24 PM CDT

Lawyer Likely to Turn Witness in Ex-Client’s Stock Fraud Trial

The ex-lawyer for a former dot-com billionaire is expected to testify against him in his stock-fraud trial. Lawyer Preston Burton is expected to testify about allegations that Charles “Junior” Johnson pushed him to introduce fake e-mails as evidence, the Washington Post reports. Prosecutors have added a charge of obstruction of…

Oct 10, 2007 11:52 AM CDT

Costly Error Linked to 4th Circuit Nominee

A lawyer nominated to a federal appeals court was lead attorney on an $8 million appeal that got tossed because the trial transcript was not filed by the deadline. E. Duncan Getchell Jr. of McGuireWoods asked the Virginia Supreme Court to hear the appeal anyway, but the judges refused, the…

Oct 10, 2007 11:00 AM CDT

Will Double Jeopardy Help QB?

The lawyer for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick says he will fight new state dogfighting charges filed against his client, who has already pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy for a dogfighting operation. Vick’s Washington, D.C., lawyer, William “Billy” Martin, said in a statement that he will examine…

Sep 26, 2007 12:07 PM CDT