4th Circuit Court

Embattled judge takes conspiracy plea, resigns from bench and agrees to disbarment

A now-former West Virginia judge accused of two unusual crimes has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in one case in exchange for having charges dropped in another. Mingo Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury resigned from the bench Wednesday, then entered his plea later in the day in federal court in Charleston, the…

Oct 3, 2013 5:30 PM CDT

Couple sues indicted judge in state and federal court

A West Virginia judge who was previously indicted on accusations that he tried to prosecute his secretary’s husband for fictitious crimes is now facing new troubles. Kim and Robert Woodruff sued Mingo Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury on Monday in state and federal court, respectively, the Charleston Daily Mail reports. Other…

Oct 1, 2013 9:20 PM CDT

Judge to take plea in case linked to slain sheriff, US Attorney says; removal of prosecutor sought

A new federal charge has been filed against a West Virginia judge who is now accused of interfering in a federal investigation linked to the slaying of a local sheriff. Mingo County Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury was charged Thursday with conspiring to deprive a drug dealer of his constitutional rights…

Sep 19, 2013 10:00 PM CDT

Clicking ‘like’ is protected by First Amendment, 4th Circuit says

A Facebook “like” is speech that is protected by the First Amendment, a federal appeals court has ruled in the case of a sheriff’s employee who lost his job for liking the sheriff’s election opponent. A federal judge in Virginia had ruled that clicking like was “insufficient speech to merit…

Sep 19, 2013 12:29 PM CDT

Suspended lawyer accused in claimed $1M-plus client extortion scheme takes mail-fraud plea

A prominent South Carolina lawyer accused of extorting over a $1 million from his clients pleaded guilty Wednesday to mail fraud in federal court in Columbia, one of 10 charges he had faced. As part of his plea deal, Richard J. Breibart, 62, will get a recommendation from prosecutors that…

Aug 28, 2013 8:50 PM CDT

Judge indicted; feds say he tried to frame romantic rival for fake crimes

A West Virginia judge has been federally indicted, accused of attempting to interfere with the work of a grand jury and a state trooper in an attempt to frame a romantic rival for crimes he didn’t commit. Mingo County Circuit Court Judge Michael Thornsbury is charged in an indictment unsealed…

Aug 15, 2013 7:12 PM CDT

Law school sues insurer, seeks coverage of civil racketeering case

Liberty University School of Law has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to force its insurance carrier to defend the institution in an earlier civil racketeering case over a child-custody battle between married same-sex parents, reports Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s VLW Blog. The underlying suit, which is proceeding in federal court in…

Jun 19, 2013 9:30 PM CDT

Assistant AG’s advice to gas companies was ‘shocking,’ says federal judge

A federal judge expressed alarm in a Wednesday opinion that an assistant attorney general for the state of Virginia has been advising natural gas companies in a court dispute and that a lead lawyer for the plaintiff landowners in the $30 million royalties case called the state their “stooge.” “Shockingly,”…

Jun 7, 2013 4:44 PM CDT

Closing attorney loses federal mortgage fraud appeal, now faces likely lengthy prison term

A federal appeals court has reinstated the conviction of a North Carolina real estate closing attorney who faces a sentence of up to 25 years in a mortgage-fraud case. Convicted for her role in closing 210 transactions between 2000 and 2004, for which she received $235,000 in attorney fees, Victoria…

Apr 9, 2013 9:04 PM CDT

Lawyer loses ADA appeal in suit claiming she was fired because of insomnia

An in-house lawyer who claimed she was fired because of an inability to sleep more than four hours a night has lost her federal appeal. The Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against lawyer Victoria Anderson, who had claimed she was fired in 2007 from cable TV…

Apr 9, 2013 3:10 PM CDT

EEOC sues Toys ‘R’ Us, says company failed to provide interpreter for deaf job applicant

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers are required to provide reasonable accommodation to workers, unless doing so would be an undue hardship. What exactly is required, in a given case, can be open to interpretation. But for a big company like Toys “R” Us there’s virtually no question that…

Mar 20, 2013 5:22 PM CDT

Defense Attorneys Not Authorized to Try to Save Ex-Client from Execution, Federal Judge Says

A federal judge in Roanoke, Va., on Thursday nixed efforts by former defense attorneys for Robert Gleason Jr., to prevent their ex-client from being executed. Gleason, 42, has strangled two inmates and says he will kill more if he isn’t put to death, reports the Associated Press. However, the attorneys…

Jan 11, 2013 5:00 PM CST

AG Seeks Appellate Stay of Fed’l Order to Release Capital Murder Defendant Due to Va. Misconduct

As a Thursday deadline nears for the Virginia to release a defendant in a capital murder case because of prosecutorial misconduct, the state’s attorney general is seeking a federal appellate-court stay of a federal district judge’s order to let Justin Wolfe go. Although the two sides disagree about the parameters…

Jan 2, 2013 10:32 PM CST

Obamacare II? Supreme Court Revives Suit Challenging Employer Insurance Mandate

Liberty University’s lawsuit challenging the Obama health care law will be heard by the Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as a result of action by the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. Liberty Counsel is representing the university and two individuals in a challenge to the so-called “employer…

Nov 26, 2012 3:55 PM CST

W. Va. Lawyer Takes Plea in Federal Mail Fraud Case re $159K in Claimed False PD Billing Vouchers

A West Virginia private practitioner accused of defrauding the state’s public defender agency of $159,000 by billing for hours she did not work has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of mail fraud. Lisa A. Weese, 43, remains free on bond pending sentencing after her Tuesday plea in U.S. District…

Nov 7, 2012 6:34 PM CST