The VLW Blog

A member of the General Assembly, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press last night that Gov. Tim Kaine will call a special session of the legislature today to deal with the problems created by the U.S. Supreme Court case of Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts. In that case, the high court, citing Sixth Amendment [...]

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A Chicago federal judge today dismissed charges of threatening a juror, ruling that Web posts by a Roanoke neo-Nazi were protected by the First Amendment. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman held that merely publishing the address and other particulars about a juror was insufficient to support a case for solicitation of violence under the U.S. [...]

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The U.S. Department of Justice has created a national database that aims to match names and histories with countless unidentified bodies. The National Missing and Unidentifed Persons System (NamUs), gives police, medical examiners, coroners and family members of missing people access to their database, which provides missing persons reports as well as details from remains [...]

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Rockbridge County Circuit Judge Michael Irvine has granted a defense motion to strike a wrongful death lawsuit after a jury deadlocked over liability for a teen’s 2006 drowning at a Lexington city park. Charles Volpe, 16, drowned while swimming at a city park when he became trapped underwater below a low head dam on the [...]

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Following a new U.S. Supreme Court case, Fairfax Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush on Friday dismissed DUI charges against a man who allegedly had a BAC of 0.11. The reason: In June, the high court decided Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, a case generally holding that lab analysts must appear in court rather than merely submit their [...]

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A Chesapeake judge is considering a mistrial motion in a murder case after a juror failed to disclose her history as a crime victim. James Boughton Jr. was previously found guilty for shooting a Mormon missionary to death. This past Friday, defense attorney Andrew Sacks told Chesapeake Circuit Judge Randy Smith that a woman known [...]

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Economic stimulus money means more opportunities for enforcement of child support obligations. Virginia collected more than $639 million in child-support payments in the past 12 months, up $10 million from the previous year, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. In many cases, the Virginia Department of Social Services has relied on unemployment benefits, tax refunds and stimulus [...]

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Lawyers attending the solo and small firm forum in Abingdon this week got an earful of tech tips from those traveling IT evangelists from Sensei Enterprises.  A recurring theme: lawyers who try using two monitor screens at their desk never give it up.  Apparently, two glowing panels really are better than one. What seems like [...]

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A parent who heard the dad of her daughter’s 14-year-old friend expressly say, “No boys with cars,” must face a wrongful death claim filed by the girl’s estate, the Supreme Court of Virginia said today. The dad, Michael Kellermann, sued Paul and Paula McDonough after his daughter Jaimee died in an automobile accident in December [...]

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The new owner of the West Virginia resort hopes to have a full-scale casino open by April, reports The Associated Press.

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