Judges say ‘mental health dockets’ are just a way to organize caseloads

Hopewell patches together bench following judge’s stepping aside

By Peter Vieth
Published: May 4, 2012
Tags: General Assembly, General District Courts, Justice Cynthia D. Kinser

The move last month by retired Hopewell General District Judge Kenneth W. Nye to step aside temporarily from hearing cases has brought a wave of local lawyers to the bench as substitute judges. Nye relinquished the bench April 23 in the wake of a letter from Hopewell Commonwealth’s Attorney Richard K. Newman detailing complaints about [...]

Busiest courts to get judges, save one

By Peter Vieth
Published: April 17, 2012
Tags: General Assembly, General District Courts, Judgeships, Virginia Court of Appeals News

The state budget approved last week by the General Assembly would pay for judgeships in the commonwealth’s busiest courts, with one exception. The spending plan hammered out by the House-Senate conference committee includes money for filling a vacant general district judgeship in the Shenandoah Valley. That seat, in the 25th District, has a caseload per [...]

No FOIA Violation by BOE

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 13, 2012
Tags: Administrative, General District Courts

Although a deputy was summoned to the location of a Board of Equalization meeting during which a freelance journalist had violated BOE rules by recording and photographing the meeting without advance notice, a Loudoun County General District Court says the BOE did not violate Virginia open-meeting laws by closing the door and discussing the matter [...]

Plaintiff recovers on bad faith claim against insurer – $13,187 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: April 2, 2012
Tags: General District Courts, Insurance

Plaintiff was involved in a motor vehicle accident and incurred over $24,000 in medical bills. At the time of the accident she had insurance coverage with USAA which provided medical payments benefits up to $10,000. After repeated requests for payments and many denials for various reasons, plaintiff filed suit for breach of contract and demanded [...]

Woman wins $4K on bad faith claim

By Paul Fletcher
Published: March 26, 2012
Tags: General District Courts, Insurance

A Hampton Roads woman who brought a bad-faith claim against her insurance company has won full payment of her medical bills, along with attorney’s fees and $4,000 in punitives. Virginia Beach lawyer Sandra L. Sampson said her client, a woman named Kellee Kraft, was hurt when her minivan was totalled in a T-bone collision. Kraft [...]

A run on general district court

By Peter Vieth
Published: January 30, 2012
Tags: General District Courts

General district court judges and clerks anticipated a run on their courts after the 2011 General Assembly passed several measures opening up access to their courts. One new law, raising the jurisdictional limit to $25,000, left court personnel expecting a flurry of new filings, with personal injury attorneys taking the fast track through district court [...]

A charge that’s not a crime

By Peter Vieth
Published: December 19, 2011
Tags: General District Courts, Traffic Offenses

Virginia drivers are being charged and convicted of an offense that is not a crime under state law: driving without proof of insurance. The General Assembly has debated the issue at least three times, but in each instance, a bill to require drivers to carry an insurance card or other proof of insurance has failed. [...]

Lawyer readies for battle over ‘no insurance card’

By Peter Vieth
Published: December 19, 2011
Tags: General District Courts, Traffic Offenses

A lawyer from Lynchburg is ready to take on Sussex County over a charge of driving without proof of insurance. M. Paul Valois said he was appalled at his recent experience as a traffic defendant. Not only was he charged with a crime that doesn’t exist in the code, he said, but he claims the [...]

House panel quizzes judges on Hernandez

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 14, 2011
Tags: General Assembly, General District Courts, Hernandez, Judge Michael S. Irvine, Judge Norman A. Thomas, Justice Cynthia D. Kinser, Supreme Court of Virginia

Several judges seeking reelection by the 2012 General Assembly have run into trouble over criminal disposition issues raised during interviews Dec. 9 before a panel of the House Courts of Justice Committee. Committee members alerted incumbent judges last April to be prepared to discuss their reliance on the Virginia Supreme Court’s January decision in Hernandez [...]