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You can’t make silk out of a sow’s ear, but the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals did its best. In re. Murphy-Brown, LLC, a trial judge issued a gag order in a case over conditions at hog farms. The appeals court reversed, saying judges can restrain speech only as a last resort. The judicial panel said the order “hamstrung” the exercise of First Amendment rights. Court’s “Mischief” It goes without saying that a prior restraint is the worst violation of free speech....

Actor Johnny Depp can void an attorney’s fee agreement with his former lawyer, a judge ruled. Attorney Jacob Bloom wanted a percentage of the actor’s earnings, and went to work on a “handshake.” But Judge Terry Green said the contingency-fee agreement should have been in writing under California’s Business and Professions Code. Now the star of “Pirates of the Caribbean” wants his money back – $30 million – on the handshake deal....

Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people at a Parkland high school, and changed the lives of untold survivors. Fifteen survivors of the massacre sued the school for failing to protect them, but a federal judge dismissed their lawsuit. The judge said the school and sheriff’s officials had “no legal duty” to protect them. It’s another painful chapter in the ongoing tragedy of violence in America’s schools. And the survivors’ case, for now, is closed....

In an action brought by employees and their union against a poultry processing plant under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), judgment of the district court in favor of defendant is affirmed as the activity of donning and doffing protective gear constitutes “changing clothes” within the meaning of section 203(o) and is therefore not compensable under the prevailing customs or practices at the plant. Read Sepulveda v. Allen Family Foods, Inc....

You’d think frat boys across America would have learned from the mistakes of the Winklevoss twins, but in the latest “you stole my idea” claim, the founders of Snapchat are duking it out in court to see who maintains an ownership interest. Frank “Reggie” Brown IV, Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy all attended Stanford University and were members of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. Brown and Spiegel brought Murphy on to help them build Snapchat, an app that would allow users to send messages and photos that would delete after a few seconds....

Snapchat, the video messaging app that’s seduced millions of Millennials, is growing fast and set to grow even faster in the future. The app grew from 50 million active daily users in March 2014 to over 100 million less than a year later, a growth that is expected to help the company bring in over a $1 billion in revenue this year – and growth that has fueled the company’s $20+ billion valuation....

A panel of judges for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the sentencing appeal in a rather controversial case. Lee Boyd Malvo, at the age of 17, participated in the murder of 10 random individuals in Virginia, Maryland and DC in 2002. Malvo was spared the death penalty, but was sentenced to life without parole. However, after the recent Supreme Court decision holding that sentences of life without parole for juvenile offenders required meeting a higher threshold than previously considered, Malvo’s case was raised to the federal district courts in both Maryland and Virginia for resentencing....

A woman accused of shoplifting spends a week in jail because she can’t post a $2,000 bond. A man is sent to Riker’s Island for three weeks because he can’t afford $1,500 in bail. His alleged crime? Possessing a soda straw, which police officers said was illegal drug paraphernalia. Both have been identified as victims of the “bail trap.” That’s the system through which prosecutors use requests for high bail – a few thousand for a misdemeanor here, a million for a homicide there – to pressure defendants into taking a plea agreement....

Data security remains a top concern among in-house counsel and for good reason. A breach can bring hefty fines, result in expensive litigation, and damage a brand. But breaches are also preventable. If you’re not already taking action to ensure your cybersecurity, or if you need to step your game up (and we all do), here’s a quick refresher course. Forget Russian hackers. A recent study shows that most data breaches are caused by human error, not nefarious outsiders or malware....

A federal judge in Texas has put a stop to the Obama administration’s plans to expand coverage of Family and Medical Leave Act protections to married same-sex couples, at least temporarily. Judge Reed O’Connor, in the District Court for the Northern District of Texas, ordered the government to stay its FMLA final rule after Texas brought suit. The stay puts a halt to an expansion which would have seen leave protections extended to all married spouses, regardless of state....

District court’s conviction of defendants for drug related crimes, after they were captured on audio/video participating in drug transactions in a motel room with an undercover agent, is affirmed where: 1) any error in admitting the recording at sentencing was harmless, and as such, question of whether the defendants had a reasonably expectation of privacy in the motel room need not be addressed; and 2) district court’s rejection of a defendant’s challenge to the admission of the audio recording at trial is affirmed as defendant’s brief engagement with the motel room did not justify a reasonably expectation of privacy in the room, and thus his communications were not protected by Title III....

Personal injury firm Jacoby & Meyers’ new advertising campaign emphasizes one thing: winning. Apparently, winning is everything to the firm. At least that’s what they’ve said in their recent commercials. “Remember that guy? Who came in second in the last New York Marathon? Neither do we. Winning is everything,” said one text-only commercial. Though out of the 3% of the firm’s cases that do go to trial, they win 3 out of the 4....

The EPA and the National Endowment for the Arts aren’t the only government programs facing massive cuts under President Trump’s proposed budget. In the proposal released last Thursday, the President urged Congress to fully eliminate funding to the Legal Services Corporation. Under the proposal, the nation’s largest funder of legal aid wouldn’t receive a single federal cent – a move that has plenty in the legal community fuming. The LSC is a publicly funded nonprofit organization that supports legal aid services throughout the country....

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has made a name for itself as a watchdog of online privacy, defender against government surveillance, and strong critic of intellectual property abuses. The nonprofit, self described as “defending civil liberties in the digital world,” is no stranger to litigation. It often acts as plaintiff or amici in strategic litigation. But it seems like it may be a defendant, as the group has been sued for the very first time....

Many firms bill themselves as ‘boutiques’ regardless of their practice area or their size or even their location. The title itself is something to turn heads. A boutique evokes a feeling of private service, close attention, and exceptional quality. When most clients are looking for relief from their legal headaches the idea of a boutique sounds soothing and reassuring. Legal marketing is already a tricky game with all the ethics requirements on honestly and disclosure in advertising....

Roderick Cochran was convicted for possessing with intent to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine. The cocaine and cocaine base at issue were discovered when officers searched a residence; Cochran was standing in the driveway of that residence at the time of the search. At trial, the government argued that, although Cochran lacked actual possession of the contraband, he constructively possessed the drugs....

In Global NAPS, Inc. v. Verizon New England Inc., No. 09-1308, the First Circuit faced a challenge to the district court’s judgment in favor of Verizon for $57,716,714 for access charges that defendant owed but failed to pay for services Verizon provided between 2003 and 2006. In affirming the district court’s judgment, the court first resolved the jurisdictional issue by holding that 28 U.S.C. section 1367 gives federal courts supplemental jurisdiction over both compulsory and at least some permissive counterclaims, which alters the circuit’s former rule, adopted before the enactment of section 1367, that required permissive counterclaims to have an independent basis for jurisdiction....

In Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Cano Martin Pena v. Fortuno, No. 09-2569, the Fourth Circuit dealt with plaintiff’s Takings Clause claim, challenging a legislative amendment revoking the transfer of public agencies’ lands to plaintiff and mandating return of the lands to public ownership through agencies of the Commonwealth and municipalities. As stated in the decision: “Public policy disagreements about the best of several rational means to accomplish legitimate public purposes are not the grist of a Takings Clause claim....

In Greek mythology, Phobos was the bloody god of fear in war. Worshipers built him a temple of skulls. His name brought panic and flight. Thousands of years later, Phobos spawned the word “phobias.” It means an irrational fear of something or someone. Today, fears of being hacked and encountering cyber-terrorism have created their own myths. The cybersecurity threats are real, but not all fears were created equal. Here are a few myths:...

Made with pure Imperial cane sugar since 1891, Dublin Dr Pepper is more than a Texas institution; it’s a nationwide sensation. But in a bid to reign in this popularity (and protect its other bottlers), Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) has filed suit against its Dublin, Texas bottler, demanding that the company ditch its personalized logo and stop distributing the sugary soft drink outside the region. Or else. In recent years, Dublin Dr Pepper has been popping up along the coasts, despite the bottler being party to a contract that limits its distribution area to the Dallas-Fort Worth region, reports the Houston Press....