Judge West to join Cuccinelli’s office

Tax suit raises conflict questions for Cuccinelli

By The Associated Press
Published: March 22, 2013
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Mecklenburg County Circuit Court, Taxation

(AP) — A lawsuit against the state of Virginia by a nutritional supplement maker whose stock comprises Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s total investment portfolio is raising questions about the Republican’s potential conflicts of interest. Henrico-based Star Scientific Inc. sued Virginia’s Department of Taxation in Mecklenberg Circuit Court in July 2011 over a $700,000 tax dispute [...]

An ‘unzip’ drive: Defense bar pushing new rules for broader access to prosecutors’ files

By Peter Vieth
Published: January 28, 2013
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Bar Associations, Commonwealth's Attorneys, Criminal, Discovery, Public Defenders, Virginia State Bar

Weary of case-by-case skirmishing over discovery, the criminal defense bar has seized the initiative to push for broad change to the rules governing access to prosecutors’ files. Defense lawyers are one step closer to winning wider access to police reports and prosecutors’ files, as new recommendations go before the Virginia State Bar at the end [...]

Va. Senate committee backs felons’ rights bill

By The Associated Press
Published: January 23, 2013
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Criminal, General Assembly, Gov. Bob McDonnell

(AP) — The Virginia Senate will consider legislation backed by Gov. Bob McDonnell to automatically restore nonviolent felons’ voting rights after the measure won a committee’s endorsement Tuesday. The Privileges and Elections Committee voted 10-5 to endorse a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment that would give the General Assembly authority to determine which nonviolent offenses [...]

Reforms of ‘actual innocence’ process advancing in Assembly

By Peter Vieth
Published: January 23, 2013
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Criminal, General Assembly

Virginia’s “relief valve” for the wrongly convicted could be opened a notch or two with changes now moving through the General Assembly. Supporters – led by Virginia’s attorney general – say reforms to the state’s “actual innocence” process could make it easier for those convicted of crimes to use new evidence to try to overturn [...]

Va. lawmakers likely to examine innocence law

By The Associated Press
Published: December 28, 2012
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Criminal, General Assembly

(AP) — Virginia lawmakers returning to Richmond in January are expected to consider relaxing the stiff legal challenges faced by wrongly convicted inmates seeking exoneration. The state’s so-called “21-day rule” has received heightened scrutiny in the wake of the high-profile Johnathan Montgomery case. The law says only an appellate court can consider new evidence of [...]

Wolfe’s lawyers seek to bar retrial of case

By The Associated Press
Published: November 26, 2012
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Criminal, Federal Courts, Judge Mary Grace O'Brien, Prince William County Circuit Court

McLEAN (AP) A former death row inmate in Virginia whose conviction was overturned on accusations of misconduct by prosecutors is petitioning a judge for his immediate release. Lawyers for Justin Wolfe filed the motion Nov. 16 in U.S. District Court in Norfolk. They argue that Virginia prosecutors have waited too long to retry Wolfe on [...]

Eminent domain amendment passes 3-1

By Paul Fletcher
Published: November 7, 2012
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Elections, Eminent Domain

Virginia voters yesterday approved a constitutional amendment that will limit the government’s ability to take private property through eminent domain. With 99 percent of all precincts voting, the State Board of Elections reported that the referendum passed with 75 percent of the vote. The amendment seeks to ensure that governmental taking of property is for [...]

Weekend time for felons may be barred, says AG

By Peter Vieth
Published: August 1, 2012
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Criminal

Convicted felons who want to keep their jobs and serve their time one weekend at a time may no longer be able to do so, following a new opinion from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. A bill passed in 1999 apparently eliminated a provision giving judges the authority to order felons to serve jail time on [...]

Herring to seek Dems’ nod for Attorney General

By Paul Fletcher
Published: July 25, 2012
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Elections

Sen. Mark Herring, D-Loudoun, has announced that he has filed paperwork to seek the Democratic nomination for Attorney General in 2013. Herring has served in the Senate since 2006; he has practiced law in Leesburg for 22 years. In declaring his candidacy, Herring blasted the incumbent AG, Ken Cuccinelli. “It’s time to get politics out [...]