The VLW Blog

Richmond officials will pull the plug on two pending appeals at the Virginia Supreme Court that would test the limits of Richmond’s “strong mayor” system. With taxpayers having already spent more than $1.1 million in legal fees, Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones ended the fight between the City Council and former Mayor L. Douglas Wilder, [...]

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Alexandria U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris sentenced former CIA executive director Kyle Foggo to 37 months for corruption. Prosecutors said Foggo used that job to award lucrative contracts to a businessman and friend in San Diego in return for expensive vacations, meals at exclusive restaurants and the promise of job after his retirement from [...]

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Three bar groups have weighed in so far with recommendations for a vacancy on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and an open district court seat in the Eastern District. Here they are, names only. You can check posts here and here for one-phrase descriptions of candidates whose names you might not recognize, and [...]

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As expected, the General Assembly today elected former colleague William C. Mims attorney general. Mims served in the legislature from 1992 until former Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell named him his chief deputy in January 2006. McDonnell stepped down earlier this month to run for governor. A news release from the AG’s office has some [...]

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President Obama has named University of Virginia law professor Jon Cannon to the No. 2 post at the Environmental Protection Agency. His position as deputy administrator of the EPA is subject to Senate approval, according to The Daily Progress. If approved, he will take a leave of absence from the law school.

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A meeting between three members of the House Courts of Justice Committee and three members of the Supreme Court of Virginia appears to have defused – but hardly eliminated – animosity over the judicial performance evaluation program. At the meeting on Tuesday, Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. agreed to withdraw an order that limited [...]

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The Appalachian School of Law is on a presidential honor roll for community service. In 2008, ASL continued coaching “Lego Robotics” teams at the Mountain Mission School for underprivileged children.   ASL students took part in the Buchanan County Community Christmas Collaborative to bring holiday cheer – clothing, a winter coat and toys – to [...]

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The U.S. Supreme Court summarily overturned an embezzlement conviction for a client of Roanoke attorneys Tony Anderson and Melissa Friedman. Anderson and Friedman’s client, former Burruss Co. President John Jackson, was charged with embezzling from an employee pension fund when he and the company’s CFO withheld money from it, reports The Roanoke Times. Defense counsel [...]

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The Virginia Bar Association and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association have both recommended Sen. John S. Edwards and Virginia Supreme Court Justice Barbara Milano Keenan for a vacancy on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. Magistrate Judge M. Hannah Lauck for a judgeship in the Eastern District of Virginia. Although the lists share [...]

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A case that pitted a smut-fighting local proseuctor against two prominent First Amendment lawyers is headed for settlement in Staunton. According to The News Leader, the year and a half long battle between prosecutor Raymond C. Robertson and Rick E. Krial, owner of After Hours Video has ended after Krial agreed not to appeal his [...]

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