The VLW Blog

A divided Supreme Court of Virginia has affirmed the computer crime conviction and nine-year prison sentence of a North Carolina man who sent mass quantities of spam – unsolicited bulk e-mail – through AOL servers in Northern Virginia. Defendant Jeremy Jaynes of Raleigh was considered among the top 10 spammers in the world when he [...]

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The Supreme Court of Virginia split sharply today in deciding three criminal cases – one affirming the procedure in state law for submitting certificates of analysis at trial, a second upholding admission of the items seized in a search under the “good faith” exception to the Fourth Amendment, and the third reversing a drug conviction [...]

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The University of Virginia Health Services Foundation does not have charitable immunity, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled unanimously today. “HSF operates like a profitable commercial business with extensive revenue and assets. That portion of HSF’s services providing quality medical care to medically indigent patients is commendable,” Justice Donald W. Lemons wrote for the court [...]

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The Supreme Court of Virginia ruled today that the regional transportation plan for Northern Virginia violates the state constitution. The constitution bars the imposition of taxes by non-elected bodies such as the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn wrote for a unanimous court. It doesn’t matter that the all but two of the [...]

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A comprehensive restructuring of the way localities pay for the costs of growth perhaps proved to be too comprehensive too soon. Senate Bill 768 would have replaced cash proffers, the amount developers pay per unit to get a rezoning approved, with impact fees, an amount per unit when a building permit is approved, regardless of [...]

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The Virginia Trial Lawyers Association appears likely to get one of its principal legislative objectives for the year. House Bill 172 allows plaintiffs’ attorneys to get the policy limits of a potential defendant before filing suit. The VTLA had to give a little, however. It accepted an amendment that would attorneys must give the insurer [...]

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For the vacant seat on the State Corporation Commission, the House of Delegates wants Richmond lawyer/lobbyist Bernard McNamee. The Senate wants a former delegate, Barnie Day. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that yesterday, three new candidates for the post interviewed with the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee. They are Henrico County Circuit Judge Catherine C. Hammond, [...]

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Long before there were bloggers, there were preachers in pulpits charged with delivering momentous news. Thus it was on July 17, 1776, that the Executive Council of Massachusetts took action to let colonists know that our nascent nation had severed its ties with England. In order to broadcast the broadside, the council ordered that copies [...]

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LeClairRyan will absorb Wright, Robinson, Osthimer & Tatum at the end of next month. The merger of the two Richmond-based firms will give LeClairRyan a West Coast presence for the first time and increase the number of attorneys to more than 270. Wright Robinson has about 50 attorneys, with a quarter of them in Richmond. [...]

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The News & Advance reports this afternoon that the Lynchburg legislative delegation apparently has agreed upon a candidate for a pending circuit judgeship in the 24th Circuit: John Cook. Cook would succeed Judge Sam Johnston of Campbell County, who is retiring June 1 after 30 years on the bench. Cook, 50, is a partner with [...]

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