The VLW Blog

The Virginia State Bar is pursuing ethics charges against a prosecutor and her former assistant who are accused of coaching a witness in a 1997 death penalty case. The decision to refer the matter to VSB’s disciplinary board could quiet claims that bar ethics investigators have turned a blind eye to alleged misconduct by prosecutors. [...]

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Virginia officials are forming a state task force to advise the federal government what to do about defective Chinese drywall that has sickened residents and ruined homes in the Tidewater area. The announcement comes today from Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Jim Cheng, who met with affected residents in early February. He said he [...]

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As debate rages over how and where to try accused terror mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a Virginia federal judge with terror trial experience will address the management of high visibility cases this month at Washington & Lee University. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema will speak at W&L on Tuesday, March 16. According to the school, [...]

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Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, took to the Senate floor today to warn about that proposal to freeze judicial appointments in order to balance the budget. “This short-sighted part of the House budget could do serious damage to the judicial system of Virginia,” Edwards said. He urged budget conferees to “recognize how important it is to [...]

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To hear Roanoke-area  circuit judges talking, the state’s moribund judicial performance evaluation program deserves another chance. As we reported in December, some key legislators have indicated they would welcome revival of the JPE project, where anonymous comments about judges were assembled by a VCU unit and delivered by the Supreme Court of Virginia. At a [...]

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Arkansas lawyer David Couch used to make a living defending nursing homes. Till he switched sides and started suing them. He was in Richmond Feb. 26 to talk to the VTLA’s Long-Term Care Litigation Section on such topics as proving understaffing. Couch said that he likes nothing better than being told he will be trying [...]

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When disputes arise at depositions, as they often do, lawyers will threaten to get the judge on the line to decide who’s right and who’s wrong. A discussion at last week’s bench-bar conference in Roanoke made one thing clear – you better check who your judge is before you ask for telephonic jurisprudence. Circuit Judge [...]

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