The latest news and cases from the Supreme Court of Virginia
">Writ granted in asbestos exposure case Posted in Writs Granted on Jan 18th, 2011
The Supreme Court of Virginia will review a $2.99 million judgment for the widow of a sailor who contended that he contracted mesothelioma while working as shipfitter on Navy tenders, where he routinely fabricated and removed asbestos packing and gaskets manufactured by John Crane Inc. The case is John Crane Inc. v. Margaret Diane Hardick, [...]
">Supreme Court approves deferred judgment Posted in Criminal Cases on Jan 13th, 2011
Resolving a sometimes heated debate between prosecutors and defense lawyers in Virginia, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled Thursday that courts have the inherent authority to take a criminal case under advisement to consider dismissal instead of conviction, even after finding enough evidence to prove guilt. The opinion in Hernandez v. Commonwealth overturns the holding [...]
">An evenly divided court? Posted in Justices on Jan 11th, 2011
The Supreme Court of Virginia has a cadre of three senior justices that it calls on to augment its ranks when a justice cannot sit for some reason. As a result, it’s rare for less than seven jurists to hear and decide a case. Until this week. The court usually knows well before argument week [...]
">Democratic principles collide at Supreme Court Posted in Civil Cases on Jan 11th, 2011
Appellate advocates Steve Emmert and Bill Hurd each emphasized the grand principle that supported his argument – the First Amendment right to petition government to redress grievances for Emmert and the sanctity of the democratic process for Hurd. If only it were that simple. As is often the case when grand principles collide, Emmert and [...]
">Court grants noncompete writ Posted in Writs Granted on Jan 10th, 2011
The Supreme Court of Virginia will review a noncompete agreement in which the language in dispute limited application of the restriction to Fairfax County but barred the employee from competing “directly or indirectly or concern himself/herself in any manner whatsoever” in the pest control business. The employee had gone from one pest control company to [...]
">Court affirms two-year suspension Posted in Unpublished Orders on Jan 8th, 2011
The Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed yesterday the two-year suspension of the license of Alexandria lawyer Dale E. Duncan despite an embarrassing oversight by the Virginia State Bar. A three-judge panel concluded that Duncan had violated Rules of Professional Conduct 8.4(a), (b) and (c) by knowingly making misrepresentations in drafting loan documents for First Mount [...]
">Gun case pulled from docket Posted in Civil Cases on Jan 7th, 2011
The Virginia attorney general’s office has decided not to contest a Shenandoah County man’s right to own a firearm even though he has been convicted of a misdemeanor domestic assault. The Department of State Police had told Festus Brian Foltz that he could not buy a firearm because of the conviction, but he and his [...]
">Hassell to miss argument session Posted in Justices on Jan 7th, 2011
Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. will miss his last argument session as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia because of health reasons. The court issued a press release this afternoon announcing that he would not participate in the session next week or attend Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s state of the commonwealth address on Wednesday. [...]
