No Error in Excluding ‘DMP’ DNA Analysis

ID Testimony on Shooter Was Reliable

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 11, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr., Virginia Court of Appeals

Although the targets of defendant’s shooting spree gave testimony with minor inconsistencies when they identified defendant as the person who shot at them, these inconsistencies went to the weight of the evidence, not its admissibility, and the Court of Appeals says admission of the identification testimony met the test of Neil v. Biggers for reliability. [...]

No Jurisdiction, Appeal Dismissed

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 6, 2012
Tags: Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr., Traffic Offenses, Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals dismisses defendant’s appeal of his conviction for improper driving in violation of Va. Code § 46.2-869, as his single assignment of error makes a general challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence and is insufficient under Rule 5A:12(c)(1)(ii) to confer jurisdiction over this appeal. Berger v. Commonwealth (Alston) No. 0445-12-4, Nov. [...]

Student Claimant Did Not Abandon Labor Force

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 6, 2012
Tags: Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr., Virginia Court of Appeals, Workers' Comp

The Court of Appeals says a claimant who injured her back working at Starbucks and who attempted light-duty employment elsewhere before attending community college full-time cannot have her workers’ comp benefits terminated on the ground that she had abandoned the labor force. Claimant made an unsuccessful attempt to return to work at the same Starbucks [...]

Evidence Proved Robbers Conspired

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 29, 2012
Tags: Criminal, Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr., Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals affirms defendant’s conviction for conspiracy to commit robbery based on evidence showing defendant acted in concert with two other individuals in robbing victim One November evening, defendant and two other men were sitting on steps outside a building near Norfolk State University. Victim approached and the men talked with him, one [...]

Dog Owner Wins New Trial

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 29, 2012
Tags: Criminal, Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr., Virginia Court of Appeals

A majority of the Court of Appeals says defendant is entitled to a new trial because the trial court applied the wrong standard in finding her guilty of inadequately caring for her dog and ordering her to pay $1,350 to the local humane society; Va. Code §3.2-6569(E) requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt; the dissent [...]

No Jurisdiction Over Another Court’s Support Decree

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 29, 2012
Tags: Domestic Relations, Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr., Virginia Court of Appeals

A father who filed a motion in Fairfax Circuit Court to modify a child support order entered in Fauquier County Circuit Court cannot overturn the Fairfax court’s order to dismiss his motion for lack of subject matter jurisdiction; the Court of Appeals affirms dismissal of the father’s motion to modify support. The parties’ final divorce [...]

Gift, Classification Issues Prompt Remand

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 27, 2012
Tags: Domestic Relations, Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr., Virginia Court of Appeals

After rehearing oral argument in this divorce case, the Court of Appeals reaffirms its holdings that the trial court erred in determining that wife’s monetary and nonmonetary contributions to the parties’ Springfield residence transmuted the residence to marital property, and erred in classifying a 2006 Toyota as wife’s separate property because it was a gift [...]

Jury Made Call on ‘Sawed-Off Shotgun’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 9, 2012
Tags: Criminal, Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr., Virginia Court of Appeals

A defendant who used an altered firearm to rob a poker game in Surry County has his conviction for use of a sawed-off shotgun in violation of Va. Code § 18.2-300 upheld by the Court of Appeals, based on the presentation of the gun as evidence and the trial court’s instructions to the jury. Defendant [...]

Circumstantial Evidence Supports Abuse Conviction

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 2, 2012
Tags: Criminal, Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr., Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals upholds a woman’s felony child abuse conviction in the death of her infant daughter from “shaken baby” syndrome; although circumstantial evidence showed the woman’s boyfriend also could have injured the child, the jury was entitled to believe his testimony and disbelieve the defendant, in light of her inconsistent stories and prior [...]