Search & Seizure – Probable Cause – Hand-Rolled Cigarette 
By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 28, 2008
A police officer in a convenience store in a “high-drug” area did not have probable cause to seize defendant, based on the officer’s observation that defendant appeared to have trouble maintaining her balance while walking and appeared to fall asleep while operating a frozen drink machine, and the presence of hand-rolled cigarettes in defendant’s car, [...]
Criminal – Prescription Drug Possession – Nature & Character
By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 28, 2008
A woman stopped in a “high-crime, high-drug area” for failure to stop at an intersection, who consented to a search of her vehicle, cannot be convicted of possession of prescription drugs found in a pill bottle with the name of her boyfriend’s niece on the prescription, as there was insufficient evidence to show that defendant [...]
Negligence – Wrongful Death – Solace Damages – Marital Discord
By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 28, 2008
In a wrongful death action filed by the estate of a man killed in a motorcycle accident, the trial court erred in setting aside a jury verdict that awarded medical and funeral expenses and nearly $1 million for lost income and services, but no damages for solace, to the man’s widow, who reportedly was separated [...]
Lawyer needn’t give notice before filing bankruptcy
By Alan Cooper
Published: April 28, 2008
The Supreme Court of Virginia could have reversed the sanction against a lawyer who avoided a trial with a last-minute bankruptcy filing based on its finding that there was no factual basis for the trial court’s conclusion that he never intended to try the case.
But the court went on to establish a much broader principle. [...]
Expert must back treatise
By Peter Vieth
Published: April 28, 2008
A live witness must lay a solid foundation before articles in medical journals may be admitted as “holy writ” in a civil trial, according to an opinion this month from the Supreme Court of Virginia. The court’s unanimous decision tightens the requirements for the use of medical literature or other “published treatises” as substantive [...]
Assembly reconvenes, taps judges
By Alan Cooper
Published: April 28, 2008
The General Assembly finally filled 22 out of about 30 judicial vacancies late Wednesday night but left it to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine or circuit judges to fill seats in Hampton, Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Roanoke.
The bitterest disputes were not between Republicans and Democrats but between House and Senate Republicans. Republicans have a majority in [...]
Republicans weigh choices for Attorney General race
By Peter Vieth
Published: April 28, 2008
The resignation by the federal prosecutor in Roanoke this month heralds a clash over who will carry the banner as the Republican nominee for Attorney General in 2009.
Meeting reporters with his beaming family at his side, U.S. Attorney John Brownlee appeared to have much more on his mind than stepping aside from the appointed post [...]
Partnerships – Derivative Action – Standing – Adverse Interest
By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 28, 2008
In a dispute among siblings in a family limited partnership with varying partnership interests in a Springfield Toyota dealership, the brother who managed the dealership and alleged tortious actions by another brother, does not have standing to file a derivative suit against the partnership, because the plaintiff brother’s adverse economic interests as both landlord and [...]
Presenting 2008’s survey of state’s ‘Largest Law Firms’
By Sarah Rodriguez
Published: April 28, 2008
Virginia Lawyers Weekly is pleased to present the 2008 survey of “Virginia’s Largest Law Firms” in this issue.
The survey ranks the 75 largest firms in the commonwealth, based on the number of Virginia-licensed attorneys working in offices located within Virginia as of Jan. 1, 2008. The survey also provides information such as address, phone numbers [...]
Search & Seizure – Traffic Stop – Passenger Pat-Down
By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 28, 2008
Although a police officer several months ago conducted a controlled cocaine purchase from a house visited by defendant, a passenger in a car stopped for a traffic violation in the same “high crime” area late at night, the officer had authority to ask the passenger to exit the vehicle, but he did not have a [...]
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