A federal appeals court has warned prosecutors about the potential consequences of using "disrespectful or uncivil language" toward others in their appellate briefs. The Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in an opinion last week, said that advocates, including government lawyers, "do themselves a disservice" when their briefs contain intemperate language directed towards the courts, opposing counsel, parties or witnesses in a case. It cited a brief in the case by federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Va., that it said was replete with such language, including its evident disdain for the district court's "abrupt handling" of the defendant's first…

A federal appeals court has warned prosecutors about the potential consequences of using "disrespectful or uncivil language" toward others in their appellate briefs. The Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in an opinion last week, said that advocates, including government lawyers, "do themselves a disservice" when their briefs contain intemperate language directed towards the courts, opposing counsel, parties or witnesses in a case. It cited a brief in the case by federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Va., that it said was replete with such language, including its evident disdain for the district court's "abrupt handling" of the defendant's first…

A federal appeals court has warned prosecutors about the potential consequences of using "disrespectful or uncivil language" toward others in their appellate briefs. The Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in an opinion last week, said that advocates, including government lawyers, "do themselves a disservice" when their briefs contain intemperate language directed towards the courts, opposing counsel, parties or witnesses in a case. It cited a brief in the case by federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Va., that it said was replete with such language, including its evident disdain for the district court's "abrupt handling" of the defendant's first…

A federal appeals court has warned prosecutors about the potential consequences of using "disrespectful or uncivil language" toward others in their appellate briefs. The Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in an opinion last week, said that advocates, including government lawyers, "do themselves a disservice" when their briefs contain intemperate language directed towards the courts, opposing counsel, parties or witnesses in a case. It cited a brief in the case by federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Va., that it said was replete with such language, including its evident disdain for the district court's "abrupt handling" of the defendant's first…

Updated: Pinterest is a great place to find new ideas for almost every topic imaginable, but if you’re posting images of those ideas, you’d better have permission, says a lawyer who recently deleted all her posts. Pinterest, a social sharing website where users “pin” things they like on “boards,” launched in 2010. It’s been reported that the site draws around 11 million visitors monthly. Kirsten Kowalski, a Georgia attorney and photographer, detailed her decision on her photography blog, DDK Portraits. According to her post, Pinterest’s terms of use agreement states that users are responsible for member content they make available,…

The country's largest online legal document service company—LegalZoom—is within weeks of filing for an initial public offering, Reuters is reporting. LegalZoom, co-founded by former O.J. Simpson lawyer Robert Shapiro, is in the process of selecting underwriters for the IPO, the news agency reports. The Los Angeles-based company acknowledged last July that it was readying for an IPO after raising $66 million from two venture capital firms, bringing the company's cash infusion at that time to $100 million. LegalZoom CEO John Suh told TechCrunch then that there was an IPO on the horizon, but no rush to go public. Reuters reports…

The International Criminal Court is expected to deliver its first verdict next month, 10 years after its creation, the Associated Press reports. The defendant, Thomas Lubanga, is a Congolese militia leader charged with recruiting child soldiers. Lubanga, who is accused of leading the Union of Congolese Patriots and its armed wing, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. In a press release issued today, the ICC stated that the verdict will be delivered March 14. Lubanga was indicted in 2006, and his first trial began in 2008. The case wrapped up in August 2011 after numerous evidence issues. The ICC,…

The Utah Supreme Court has ruled that physicians have a duty to their patients’ family members in a case brought on behalf of the children of a confessed murderer. The ruling “could have a widespread effect on the number of malpractice lawsuits filed against health care providers,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The decision reverses a lower court judge who ruled medical malpractice suits could not be pursued by third parties. The suit alleges a nurse practitioner and her consulting physician were negligent in 2007 when prescribing six medications to David Ragsdale, including antidepressants and steroids. Ragsdale shot and killed…

An Albemarle County school board’s failure to pay its school bus drivers and transportation assistants overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act was a “wrongful act” under the school board’s commercial insurance policy, and the policy does not cover wage payments but should cover liquidated damages and attorney’s fees, the 4th Circuit says. The district [...]

The 4th Circuit offers a refresher course in assessing “probable cause” and reverses a district court order suppressing drugs found in a secret compartment of defendant’s car because the district court applied the wrong standards for determining whether police had defendant’s consent to search the vehicle and whether there was probable cause to search it. Police [...]