Virginia Legal*Political Blog

The Virginian-Pilot reports that Del. Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News, gets $40,000 a year as a coordinator of an Old Dominion University teacher training center that he sponsored as a legislator. A budget amendment that Hamilton introduced in 2007 provided the initial money for ODU’s Center for Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership, and the center still [...]

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Former Democratic Gov. Doug Wilder has nice things to say about the Republicans’ candidate for governor this year. In an interview with The Washington Times, Wilder complimented GOP nominee Bob McDonnell on his efforts to reach out to Virginians who don’t traditionally vote Republican. He also expressed concern that Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds was at [...]

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The Senate Courts of Justice Committee also will meet Aug. 7, four hours earlier than the criminal subcommittee of its House of Delegates counterpart, to discuss legislation that will be considered at the Aug. 19 special session of the General Assembly to address Melendez-Diaz v. Massachuetts. Yesterday’s post about the House subcommittee meeting described the [...]

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Former Rep. Virgil Goode apparently has abandoned any plan to regain his 5th District seat in the House of Representatives. The Roanoke Times, among others, reports Goode has released a statement saying he will not challenge Tom Perriello, who beat Goode by 727 votes to win the Congressional seat last year. By Peter Vieth

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Radford University religion professor Carter Turner today announced his bid to unseat House majority leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem. Turner replaces Ginny Weisz as the Democrat on the ballot. Weisz withdrew from the race last week. The Roanoke Times notes Turner’s announcement here, but, for the real scoop, we went to RateMyProfessors.com. According to students’ ratings, [...]

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The criminal law subcommittee of the House Courts of Justice Committee will meet Aug. 7 to discuss legislation that will be considered at the Aug. 19 special session of the General Assembly to address Melendez-Diaz v. Massachuetts. That case, decided last month, holds that laboratory analysts generally must appear in court rather than submit their findings [...]

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Sen. Ken Stolle hopes the General Assembly next month will consider approving restitution for a man wrongly imprisoned for 22 years. Arthur Whitfield, released from prison almost five years ago, has since struggled with health issues, employment and finances. According to The Virginian-Pilot, Stolle drafted a bill that he hopes will go before the Assembly [...]

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Eight Republicans have thrown hats into the ring for their party’s nomination to succeed Del. Chris Saxman, R-Staunton, reports The News Leader. Saxman, a four-term veteran, surprised observers by announcing last week he was quitting the legislature to spend time on more personal projects. A candidates forum is scheduled for Monday, according to the paper.

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Speaking of crossing sides, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that several former Republican legislators say they’re backing Creigh Deeds for governor. According to the article, the seven former legislators plan to join a group called “Virginians for Deeds.” One of the memebers criticized McDonnell’s plan, saying it would be doomed from the start because it would take [...]

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Gov. Timothy M. Kaine this morning called a special session of the legislature for Aug. 19 to address the problems created by Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts. Mark Rubin, counsel to the governor, said, “A legislative fix doesn’t cure the problem, but it will help us manage the problem.” The problem is that the 5-4 decision by [...]

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