Kareem Barlow was convicted of Possession of a Firearm as a Convicted Felon in Newport News, Virginia. On appeal his criminal lawyers argued that the “gun” in his possession was not really a gun. It had no barrel and was in an rusty and poor condition. It could not shoot a bullet. (Actual operability of the gun is not a factor for a conviction of this crime; the question was ‘when does a gun stop being
Arlington Police report that four men were arrested and charged with Malicious Wounding on April 6, 2013. The men were allegedly involved in a fight wherein a fifth man was stabbed 7 times in his torso, upper body, groin, and thigh area. The fight was reported to have occurred in front of Union Jack restaurant in the Ballston Commons Mall around midnight. The accused are David Bhatti, Heber Amaya-Gallo, Gustavo Lopez, and Naveed Mughal. This
The False Claims Act (“FCA”) is the primary vehicle used by the Federal Government to protect itself against fraud. The FCA permits a private whistleblower (a “Relator”) to sue a contractor in the name of the United States, and to be awarded a portion of the damages recovered by the government. That is exactly what a former employee attempted to do when he brought a claim against the largest contractor for the United States Army,
A litigant who files a very aggressive lawsuit can sometimes slow down, rather than advance, his or her case. That is exactly what happened to a retired physician and his irrevocable trust, after they brought suit in Virginia Federal Court against five separate defendants in order to recover over $1 million allegedly defrauded from them. The case is Cook v. John Hancock Life Ins. Co. The dispute in the case arises out of the physician’s
Opinions vary, but most employment lawyers believe that they are not worth the effort and expense outside of special industries and unique circumstances. Many issues arise when employers seek to bind their employees to arbitration agreements. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that employee arbitration agreements must provide at least the same level of protections that employees would have under federal law. This means that they must be able to recover the same remedies (including