The VLW Blog

The House of Representatives has passed the Attorney-Client Protection Act of 2007, sponsored by Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., to protect conversations between attorneys and clients under investigation, reports The Daily Press. Scott said the bill was needed to prevent strong-arm tactics by prosecutors toward those under investigation. Memos from the Justice Department counseled prosecutors to [...]

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Yesterday in Fairfax, a trial expected to last two weeks got under way that could determine control of the property of 11 churches that voted to leave the Episcopal Diocese. Millions of dollars are at stake. At issue is an 1867 law, Virginia Code § 57-9, that governs when a congregation can realign its allegiance [...]

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Opponents of the art sale proposed by officials at Randolph College need to post a $10 million bond by 4:30 p.m. tomorrow to finalize the injunction stopping the auction, reports The News & Advance. If they fail to post the bond, the school can proceed with the sale, which will be conducted by Christie’s in [...]

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Last night in Richmond, Virginia Lawyers Weekly paid tribute to the 2007 class of “Leaders in the Law.” This year’s honorees are: • Richard J. Bonnie, the University of Virginia law professor who has served as chairman of the Supreme Court’s commission on mental health reform. • Richard Cullen, who became chairman of the Richmond-based [...]

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A civil challenge to Virginia’s abusive driving fees remains alive in Roanoke County Circuit Court. Judge James R. Swanson ruled Wednesday that the doctrine of sovereign immunity does not bar a request for a declaratory judgment on the constitutionality of Virginia Code § 46.2-206.1, which established the fees as part of a $3 billion package [...]

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Memo to all the members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords: Don’t die on the job. You’ll be breaking the law. That’s right. It is illegal to die within the Houses of Parliament. And that statute was voted the “most ludicrous” piece of legislation on the books in the United Kingdom [...]

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Like to spend time at the Outer Banks? You may already know you can’t buy a mixed drink on Hatteras Island. And that isn’t going to change. In yesterday’s elections in North Carolina, Hatteras residents went to the polls to vote on a measure that would have allowed the sale of mixed beverages on the [...]

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From yesterday’s election results… Two longtime commonwealth’s attorneys, one in Caroline County and the other in Albemarle, were defeated by opponents calling for change. In Caroline, Harvey Latney Jr. has been the top prosecutor for 30 years. But newcomer Tony Spencer got 60 percent of the vote, according to The Free Lance-Star. And The Daily [...]

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Embracery? No, it doesn’t mean what you think. The word comes not from the Old French word for arm but from the Middle English word to set on fire or incite—as one might do when trying to influence a juror improperly. The Daily Progress reports that Charlottesville attorney Deborah C. Wyatt is accused of doing [...]

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The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed six decisions of the Virginia Court of Appeals today on issues ranging from restitution to the use of a penile plethysmograph test in a sentencing. A penile plethysmograph attempts to measure the degree of a arousal to various sexual stimuli by measuring changes in the flow of blood to [...]

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