4th Circuit Court

4th Circuit Tells Lower Court to Consider DNA in Appeal of ‘Fatal Vision’ Doc

A federal appeals court has directed a lower court to consider DNA evidence and witness statements in an appeal by the Army doctor convicted of murdering his wife and two daughters in a case portrayed in the book Fatal Vision. Jeffrey MacDonald claims the 1970 murders were committed by four…

Apr 20, 2011 4:41 PM CDT

Finally, a Big Fish: Federal Jury Convicts Taylor Bean Mortgage Co. Owner Farkas in $3B Fraud

In a rare major fraud case brought in connection with the nation’s financial crisis, the government has won a conviction. A federal jury in Alexandria, Va., today convicted Lee Farkas, the chairman and majority owner of a major Florida-based mortgage company, on all 14 counts concerning a fraud scheme that…

Apr 19, 2011 11:20 PM CDT

Virginia Tech May Appeal Federal Fine from 2007 Shootings

Virginia Tech may appeal a $55,000 federal fine it received regarding the school’s response time to a 2007 mass shooting, which resulted in the death of 32 people, the Associated Press reports. The four-year anniversary of the tragedy is April 16. It’s been reported that the school waited almost two…

Apr 15, 2011 5:57 PM CDT

$4M Verdict, Oral Contract Upheld for Creator of ‘Flip This House’

A 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel has upheld a $4 million jury verdict awarded to a South Carolina real estate broker who created the concept for the A&E reality show Flip This House and had an oral contract to split revenues. Pleased with the Richmond, Va.-based court’s 2-1…

Apr 15, 2011 5:16 PM CDT

Judges Won’t Be Gambling at Conference Due to 4th Circuit Request

Judges attending a conference sponsored by a federal appeals court this June won’t be visiting the casino. The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., is closing its underground casino at the request of the conference sponsor, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in Richmond, Va. The Charleston…

Apr 8, 2011 11:40 AM CDT

FDA Chemist Charged in $2.27M Insider Trading Case, Allegedly Used Password-Protected Gov’t Site

A chemist for the Food and Drug Administration and his son are accused of reaping $2.27 million in illegal profits from an insider-trading scheme that allegedly used information from a password-protected FDA site concerning pending drug applications. Cheng Yi Liang, 57, and his son, Andrew, 25, face criminal conspiracy charges…

Mar 29, 2011 10:23 PM CDT

Va. Tech Gets Max $55K Fine for Late Massacre Day Warning; Much More Deserved, Official Says

Virginia Tech has been fined $55,000 for waiting almost two hours before warning students of an on-campus slaying that took place on the same day a deranged student later killed 30 more individuals on campus and himself nearly four years ago. The fine is the maximum allowed under the federal…

Mar 29, 2011 9:01 PM CDT

Judge Ponders Possible Dismissal of Obstruction Case Against Ex-Glaxo In-House Counsel

At an action-packed pretrial hearing yesterday, a federal judge indicated that he may be considering dismissing the indictment (PDF) in an obstruction case against a former in-house counsel of GlaxoSmithKline Plc. At issue in the Greenbelt, Md., case is whether the grand jury that issued the indictment against Lauren Stevens…

Mar 18, 2011 9:33 PM CDT

Lawyer Expected to Take Plea in $760K Income-Tax Evasion Case

A Michigan lawyer is expected to take a plea in a federal income tax evasion case. David Black, who heads the Black, Black and Black law offices in Port Huron, is expected to plead guilty at his arraignment next month, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Detroit tells…

Mar 17, 2011 7:03 PM CDT

DOJ Advises Supreme Court There’s No Rush on Review of Health Care Law

The Obama administration has advised the U.S. Supreme Court there is no need to be hasty in reviewing the new health care law. The state of Virginia has asked the Supreme Court to accept an expedited review of the constitutionality of the law’s requirement for individuals to buy health insurance.…

Mar 15, 2011 2:53 PM CDT

Bipolar Lawyer Got in Over His Head, Committed $1M Fraud in ‘Manic Phase,’ His Lawyer Says

While he was still practicing in the $1,000-a-month law office his father established, Frank Plowden Jenkins II was doing fine. But the bipolar Maryland attorney got into trouble when, in a “manic phase,” he rented fancy new space at $6,500 a month in White Plains and started investing in a…

Mar 11, 2011 5:00 PM CST

4 Foreign Bankers Indicted in US, Accused of Conspiracy to Help Americans Hide Assets, Evade Taxes

Four former bankers at a major Swiss bank have been indicted in federal court in Alexandria, Va., for allegedly conspiring to help U.S. residents evade taxes by hiding assets in secret accounts at four foreign banks in Switzerland, Hong Kong and Israel. None of the defendants is in custody. Marco…

Feb 24, 2011 6:05 PM CST

Ex-CIA Agent Charged in Alleged Leaks to Reporter; WaPo Says Info May Have Gone to NY Times

A former CIA officer has been federally indicted for allegedly leaking classified information to an unidentified reporter. Citing unidentified attorneys and former intelligence officials, the Washington Post reports that the journalist to whom Jeffrey Sterling, 43, is accused of leaking information is James Risen of the New York Times. The…

Jan 6, 2011 10:32 PM CST

Judicial Nomination Deal Stymies Liu, Puts Democratic Majority on 2nd Circuit

Majority leaders of both parties in the Senate have worked out a deal allowing confirmation of 19 of President Obama’s judicial nominees and deferral of four others. Democrats agreed not to seek votes on the four nominees, report the Associated Press and the San Jose Mercury News. Their nominations will…

Dec 22, 2010 12:27 PM CST

Copyright King’s Business Model at Risk: Judge Requires Separate Filing Fees in 1,000s of P2P Claims

In less than three months, attorney Kenneth Ford has pursued some 22,000 copyright claims alleging peer-to-peer file-sharing violations, backing his Adult Copyright Company’s offer of “hardcore protection for hardcore content.” But a federal judge in West Virginia has put a spoke in the copyright king’s wheels by requiring Ford to…

Dec 17, 2010 6:45 PM CST