Mrs. O’s time at Sidley

Michelle Obama – Barney’s lawyer? More  Read More →

Allen the family

I was driving down to Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday to see the Maryland-Virginia football game (too bad the Terps decided not to make the trip) when I came across a rather unusual sign. A few miles from the Virginia campus was a law office named “Allen Allen Allen & Allen.” One of my favorite parts of being a legal reporter at The Daily Record is the names of the... More

Md. man wants Congress to go to the mattresses

Looks like someone has found a way to use the current financial crisis to drum up interest in their business. Mike Zippelli, CEO of Classic Sleep Products in Jessup, has sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offering the donation of 535 mattresses so that members of Congress have a comfy place to nap while (if?) they work round the clock to find a legislative way out of the financial crisis. More  Read More →

The chilling effect of “libel tourism”

Responding to fear of foreign libel lawsuits, the House of Representatives passed a bill Saturday on “libel tourism.” H.R. 6146 aims to prevent American courts from enforcing some foreign libel judgments, according to an editorial in the New York Times. More  Read More →

Suing the boss

Once again, it’s pop quiz time! Who said the following in 1976: “Grave dancing is an art that has many potential benefits. But one must be careful while prancing around not to fall into the open pit and join the cadaver.” More  Read More →

Lawyer/referee marked down for bad call

Many football fans already knew referee Ed Hochuli before Sunday, when he made headlines for incorrectly whistling dead a fumble by the Denver Broncos’ Jay Cutler that was recovered by the San Diego Chargers in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. (Cutler’s “pass” was called incomplete by rule; the Broncos scored soon after and pulled... More

No, YOU’RE under arrest!

Impersonating a federal police officer is a crime, but if the badge you use to do it isn’t “substantially identical” to the real thing, simply having the fake emblem is not a separate offense, a federal judge in Greenbelt ruled. More  Read More →

Tracking suspects through cell phones

A federal judge has ruled that law enforcement needs to show probable cause before getting permission to track a suspect through his cell phone. More  Read More →

It’s not The Wire, but…

I’ll admit I was a little nervous when the first line of an e-mail I received read, in part, “I’m with the TV show America’s Most Wanted.” But I was more than happy to help when I read on, and was asked to pass along word that Saturday night’s episode features the capture of Kevin “Muggsy” Armstead, a Baltimore... More

Can’t do the canned food drive

Stung by an ethics opinion that bars her from taking donations for a canned food drive in lieu of $50 in court fines, a Montana judge is looking for alternatives — and questioning whether the ruling could have broader ramifications. More  Read More →

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