Plea Deal Claim Gets Court Hearing

Bodily Injury Not ‘Crime of Violence’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 22, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge T.S. Ellis III, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Defendant’s two prior convictions for unlawful bodily injury under Va. Code § 18.2-51 do not constitute predicate “crimes of violence” under federal sentencing guidelines, and the Alexandria U.S. District Court says defendant is not eligible for a 12-level enhancement of his offense level on his sentence for illegal re-entry into the U.S. following removal. Given [...]

Hearing Ordered on Plea Deal Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 22, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Based on petitioner’s assertion that an injury delayed his response, the Norfolk U.S. District Court orders an evidentiary hearing on petitioner’s motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 alleging his lawyer did not communicate a plea offer from the federal prosecutor. The lawyer who defended the case earlier stated in an affidavit that he and petitioner [...]

U.S. appeals panel ponders: what is a pirate?

By The Associated Press
Published: May 16, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Federal Courts, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, Judge Henry F. Floyd, Judge Paul V. Niemeyer

(AP) — In the violent world of piracy, Mohammad Saaili Shibin was a multilingual negotiator based in lawless Somalia, working his cellphone to negotiate multimillion-dollar ransoms for merchant ships and sailors that dared to venture into pirate-infested international waters off Africa. Does that make him guilty of piracy? The question was the central argument May [...]

Prior Md. Crime Is ‘Violent Felony’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 16, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge Jean Harrison Clements, Virginia Court of Appeals

Defendant’s prior conviction under a Maryland statute for assault with intent to maim qualifies as a predicate violent offense under Va. Code § 18.2-308.2, and the Court of Appeals affirms defendant’s conviction of possession of a firearm after being convicted of a violent felony. Under Code § 19.2-297.1(B), the commonwealth could rely on defendant’s Maryland [...]

Analogue Act Upheld for ‘Bath Salts’ Sale

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 15, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge Glen E. Conrad, U.S. District Court - Western District

A defendant cannot win judgment of acquittal after a jury verdict finding him guilty of conspiracy and distribution of “bath salts” – controlled substance analogues for human consumption – in violation of the Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act of 1986; the Charlottesville U.S. District Court rejects defendant’s challenges to 1) the constitutionality of the Analogue [...]

Complaint Sufficient to Seize Cash

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 15, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge James C. Cacheris, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this civil forfeiture action involving $17,550 seized by Fairfax County police officers from claimant’s vehicle during a traffic stop, the Alexandria U.S. District Court denies claimant’s motion to dismiss the action because the government’s complaint supports the initial seizure of the cash. The court finds the government has stated facts sufficient to support a [...]

No Restitution Payment with Tax Refund

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 14, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge William B. Traxler Jr.

A district court abused its discretion in adding as a special condition to defendant’s sentencing order an obligation to turn over any tax refund as part of her restitution for illegal receipt of social security payments, and the 4th Circuit vacates the order setting the special condition. In the Victim and Witness Protection Act of [...]

No Collateral Estoppel on Firearm Charge

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 10, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge Charles E. Poston, Norfolk Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

In defendant’s prosecution on firearm possession charges, the Norfolk Circuit Court denies defendant’s motions to estop the commonwealth from subsequent prosecution or from introducing evidence previously adjudicated during the trial in which defendant was acquitted of murder and use of a firearm charges arising from the same incident. On Oct. 26, 2012, a jury acquitted [...]

Mother Paid from Father’s Appeal Bond

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 9, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge Randolph A. Beales, Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals affirms a trial court order directing release of $221,610 in appeal bond funds to the mother/appellee, in this dispute over the bond for the father’s appeal to this court over child support issues. Father and mother were married in New York in 1995, and had three children. The parties separated on [...]