Criminal – Pre-Conviction Bail – Rebuttable Presumption 
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 12, 2008
According to the Court of Appeals, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting to pre-conviction bail a defendant who successfully rebutted the presumption that no conditions of bail would reasonably assure his appearance at trial or the safety of the public.
Defendant was charged with a third or subsequent offense of possession of [...]
Criminal – Drug Conspiracy – Hearsay – Confrontation Clause
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 12, 2008
The Court of Appeals rejects a defendant’s claims that the trial court erred under both state hearsay rules and the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause by admitting into evidence hearsay statements made by his alleged coconspirators, and defendant’s drug conspiracy conviction is affirmed.
We hold defendant failed to preserve the state hearsay claims for appeal and his [...]
Criminal – Cocaine Possession – Drugs In Car
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 12, 2008
The Court of Appeals has “no difficulty confirming the sufficiency of the evidence” to convict defendant of possession of cocaine found in his car when he was stopped for suspected improper vehicle registration and a license plate affixed with “zip ties.”
When the officer stopped defendant, he appeared visibly nervous and sweating. The baggie with the [...]
Criminal – B&E – Intent To Assault
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 12, 2008
There was sufficient evidence that defendant had no legal right to be at the apartment of his former girlfriend, who had taken out a protective order against him, when he broke into her apartment but left before police came, and the Court of Appeals affirms defendant’s conviction under Va. Code § 18.2-91.
The police officer who [...]
Criminal – Guilty Plea Withdrawal – Robbery
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 12, 2008
A trial court did not err in refusing to allow defendant at sentencing to withdraw his earlier pleas of guilty to robbery and firearm charges, prompted by defendant’s “buyer’s remorse” after he saw the sentences handed out to codefendants, the Court of Appeals holds.
Defendant presented no affidavits and essentially submitted no evidence to the trial [...]
Criminal – Police Checkpoint – Outstanding Warrant – Search Incident
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 12, 2008
Police who stopped defendant at a roadblock set up to check the driver’s license and motor vehicle registration of every vehicle that passed through an intersection in Martinsville, and who discovered an outstanding warrant for defendant’s arrest, could lawfully seize the cocaine found in a search incident to the arrest, the Court of Appeals holds.
The [...]
Criminal – Receiving Stolen Property – Defendant’s Knowledge
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 12, 2008
A woman’s written confession stating she knew the man with whom she lived, who was breaking into cars, was bringing stolen property into their apartment, was sufficient to support her conviction for receiving stolen property, despite her effort to recant her confession at trial, the Court of Appeals holds.
Defendant also admitted in her written statement [...]
Criminal – Appeals – Proffer Of Witness Answer
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 12, 2008
A defendant cannot pursue on appeal his claim the trial court should have allowed him to question a prosecution about what benefit he expected to receive from his testimony at trial, because defendant failed to proffer the answer he expected to get from the prosecution witness, the Virginia Court of Appeals holds.
Because this claim cannot [...]
Criminal – Meth In Manila Envelope – Conspiracy To Distribute
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 12, 2008
A witness who observed another woman put two ounces of methamphetamine and cash into a manila envelope, tape it closed and give it to defendant, who said someone would have to kill her to get it, provided sufficient evidence that defendant was aware of the nature of the substance in the envelope to be [...]
Criminal – Felony Eluding – Fifth Amendment – Prosecutor Comment
By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 12, 2008
A prosecutor’s comment during closing argument about defendant not offering an explanation why he was hiding from police when he was discovered under a pile of laundry in the laundry room of his girlfriend’s mother’s house, was not an impermissible comment on defendant’s refusal to testify at his trial, and his conviction of felony eluding [...]
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