Cashier’s List of Stolen Items Inadmissible

Officer’s Testimony Proved Speeding, DUI

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 16, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge Glen A. Huff, Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals affirms defendant’s bench trial convictions for speeding and misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol; the arresting officer’s observations suffice to prove speeding regardless whether his speedometer was calibrated; defendant’s Fourth Amendment objections to the stop that revealed his intoxication are waived by failing to present them below One December evening [...]

Appeals court allows do-over for procedural defaults

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 27, 2013
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Glen A. Huff, Judge Robert J. Humphreys, Judge Robert P. Frank, Judge Stephen R. McCullough, Judge William G. Petty, Virginia Court of Appeals

Some procedural errors that may have meant dismissed appeals will no longer be fatal, a divided Virginia Court of Appeals said today in a trio of en banc cases. Specifically, in two cases, the court allowed amendments to retool assignments of error and to specify page references to show an appellate claim had been preserved. [...]

Procrastination not Contempt

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 12, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge Glen A. Huff, Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals reverses and dismisses public defender’s summary contempt conviction and $150 fine under Va. Code § 18.2-456(1); the record evidence is insufficient to show public defender had the requisite intent to obstruct or interfere with the administration of justice in waiting until two days before a scheduled bench trial to withdraw his [...]

Prior Juvenile Adjudication and Firearm Proved

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 12, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge Glen A. Huff, Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals affirms juvenile’s jury trial conviction for possessing a firearm after a prior delinquency adjudication for a felonious act: the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District (JDR) Court order was a prior adjudication based on defendant’s guilty plea and the apprehending police officers’ testimony proved defendant dropped a loaded Smith and Wesson revolver [...]

Agency Could Not Order Platform Removal

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 11, 2013
Tags: Administrative, Judge Glen A. Huff, Virginia Court of Appeals

On rehearing en banc, the Court of Appeals affirms a circuit court decision holding that appellant Virginia Marine Resources Commission lacked jurisdiction to order Chincoteague Inn to remove a floating platform from over state-owned bottomland. VMRC argues the circuit court erred in holding that the agency had no jurisdiction to order removal of the platform. [...]

Court Upholds Suppression of Driver’s Drugs

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 20, 2012
Tags: Judge Glen A. Huff, Search & Seizure, Virginia Court of Appeals

A defendant’s consent to search of her vehicle was not valid, as that consent was given after defendant, traveling late at night with three children, was stopped in a rural area by two uniformed deputies, one of whom stood by her vehicle window, holstered gun on display, and asked her about drugs after telling her [...]

No Plea Withdrawal for Mental Instability Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 22, 2012
Tags: Criminal, Judge Glen A. Huff, Virginia Court of Appeals

Although defendant contends he was not mentally stable when he entered his Alford plea to grand larceny and he was not allowed to contest his guilt by asserting that he was not guilty of taking money for work he had not done, the Court of Appeals affirms denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty [...]

Support Order Registration Upheld

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 15, 2012
Tags: Domestic Relations, Judge Glen A. Huff, Virginia Court of Appeals

Although a father argues a Virginia court’s registration of a North Carolina order improperly extended his child support obligation, the Court of Appeals says he cannot overturn registration of the 1997 North Carolina order that modified a 1994 child support order entered by a New York court when the parties divorced. On appeal, the father [...]

Felony Eluding is Separate Offense

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 4, 2012
Tags: Criminal, Judge Glen A. Huff, Virginia Court of Appeals

A defendant who pleads guilty to reckless driving in general district court is not entitled to set aside his conviction for felony eluding on double jeopardy grounds; the Court of Appeals says Va. Code § 19.2-294 does not bar simultaneous prosecutions and the offenses involved are separate requiring proof of different facts. A police officer [...]