Grandparents Win Custody, Not Mom

Defendant Could Withdraw Plea

By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 20, 2012
Tags: Criminal, Judge Sam W. Coleman III, Virginia Court of Appeals

A defendant charged with production and possession of child pornography should have been allowed to withdraw her no-contest pleas after defendant obtained evidence the photographer who took nude photos of her 17-year-old daughter added contract language about taking nude photographs after defendant had signed the contract; the Court of Appeals says defendant had evidence to [...]

Cohabitation Ends Spousal Support

By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 6, 2012
Tags: Domestic Relations, Judge Sam W. Coleman III, Virginia Court of Appeals

In husband’s appeal of the circuit court’s refusal to terminate spousal support for cohabitation, the Court of Appeals reverses and remands; Va. Code § 20-109 as amended in 1997 requires termination for cohabitation where the parties’ agreement does not expressly preclude cohabitation as a possible termination event. Husband and wife separated after nearly 25 years [...]

Sound Proved Attempted Burglary of Garage

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 25, 2012
Tags: Criminal, Judge Sam W. Coleman III, Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals affirms defendant’s bench trial convictions for attempted burglary with intent to commit larceny in violation of Va. Code §§ 18.2-91 and 18.2-26 based on homeowner’s testimony that defendant knew the garage contents from visiting his stepdaughter and he heard a metallic rumbling sound when he approached the garage near midnight and [...]

Circumstances Proved Boyfriend Hit Mom

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 15, 2012
Tags: Criminal, Judge Sam W. Coleman III, Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals affirms defendant’s bench trial convictions for misdemeanor domestic assault and battery under Va. Code § 18.2-57.2; the circumstances prove defendant hit his seven-year-old son’s mother, cutting her above the eye, when he grabbed her cell phone and threw it into a glass picture. Defendant lives with mother and their seven-year-old son. [...]

Murder, Firearms Convictions Upheld

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 8, 2012
Tags: Criminal, Judge Sam W. Coleman III, Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals affirms defendant’s jury trial convictions for murder and use of a firearm; although the final sentencing order must be corrected to refer to first degree murder under Va. Code § 18.2-32 rather than capital murder under Code § 18.2-31, ample evidence supports the jury findings defendant intended to kill his two [...]

Move Outside State May Benefit Child

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 13, 2011
Tags: Domestic Relations, Judge Sam W. Coleman III, Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals reverses and remands a trial court order awarding custody of a minor child to father; the trial court applied the wrong standard and failed to consider benefits to the son of mother’s move to another state. In April 2010, the juvenile and domestic relations district (JDR) court adopted the parties’ mediated [...]

Toddler Returned to Mom, But Not Oldest Son

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 13, 2011
Tags: Domestic Relations, Judge Sam W. Coleman III, Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals affirms termination of a mother’s parental rights to her oldest son but refuses to terminate her parental rights to her youngest son and orders his return to her; the record evidence supports that mother is unable to manage the oldest child’s special needs but the youngest child’s best interests are served [...]

‘Actual harm’ not the standard for mom’s move

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 2, 2011
Tags: Domestic Relations, Frederick County Circuit Court, Judge John R. Prosser, Judge Sam W. Coleman III, Virginia Court of Appeals News

A mother gets another chance to prove her move to Pennsylvania was good for her seven-year-old son, after the Virginia Court of Appeals reversed a custody change to the father. The trial court applied the wrong legal standard when it used the “actual harm” test instead of the “best interests of the child” test to [...]

Employer’s Doctor Panel Defective, Court Says

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 1, 2011
Tags: Judge Sam W. Coleman III, Virginia Court of Appeals, Workers’ Comp

The Court of Appeals upholds an award of benefits for a laborer who was struck by a truck, lay unconscious for a period of time, went to the hospital by ambulance and initially sought treatment by a chiropractor; the panel of physicians offered by employer was defective, as it referred claimant to a medical center [...]