The VLW Blog

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Urbanski and representatives of the U.S. Attorney’s office are bringing a dose of drug law reality to Southside middle school classes. According to The Register & Bee, Judge Urbanski was so disillusioned with seeing 18- to 20-year-olds in his courtroom facing stiff prison sentences for drug charges that he decided to [...]

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Lynchburg leaders are raising money to restore the clock and bell in the old city courthouse. WSET reports that the Old Courthouse bell has been silent for almost a decade. The Museum that now occupies the old courthouse building is trying to raise $20,000 to bring the 150-year-old piece of history back to life. The [...]

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Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-6th District, hopes to halt what he calls a “deeply disturbing trend” of judges citing foreign legal sources in U.S. court decisions. The Roanoke Congressman has again introduced a resolution in the House discouraging judicial interpretations based in any part on foreign judgments, laws or pronouncements. “The Supreme Court, the highest court [...]

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Studies show what your gut already knows – when the appeals court judges are hammering you with questions, it’s a good bet they’re leaning toward ruling for your opponent. The New York Times reports on the validation of the question-count theory: the side that gets the most questions from the bench is most likely to [...]

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The New York Times reports on a recent flurry of comments from the bench about lawyers’ courtroom attire. The issue arose during a panel discussion this week in Indianapolis. Most of the conversation among judges and members of the audience focused on women lawyers dressing inappropriately in the courtroom. The ABA Journal posted an account [...]

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Government Web sites are slow to change, so it’s news when a makeover is announced.  The home page for Virginia’s judicial system now carries an announcement that a redesigned Web site is on the way: We are pleased to announce the upcoming launch of the redesigned website for Virginia’s Judicial System. The web address for [...]

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A Buchanan County woman passed over for a social services job has lost her suit against local officials, even though a federal appeals court holds it is unlawful to discriminate in hiring for that job on the basis of politics. A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a published opinion released [...]

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The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has just made it a bit easier for inmates hoping to score with civil litigation to stay at the plate for a few more pitches. The court has loosened the 1996 “three strikes rule.” Under that rule, if a prisoner swings and misses in federal court three times, [...]

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A Liberty University dean complimented the college’s Democratic club last fall for being a faith-based organization working within the Democratic Party. But last week the same dean sent the club an e-mail saying “we are unable to lend support to a club whose parent organization stands against the moral principles held by” the university. The [...]

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Jane Hawker has worked for for Danville Commonwealth’s Attorney Bill Fuller for almost 40 years. She plans to retire at the end of the year when Fuller leaves office, and The Register & Bee describes her efforts as Fuller’s administrative assitant to free him from the task of managing the office so that he could concentrate [...]

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