The VLW Blog

When Danville U.S. District Judge Jackson Kiser rules that the “Shaggy defense” won’t fly in a summary judgment motion, we can safely assume the term is now ensconced in the annals of legal terminology. For those whose musical tastes don’t include R&B, the “Shaggy defense” refers to a 2000 hit by reggae star Shaggy (Jamaica [...]

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A couple fighting city hall in Roanoke over the condemnation of their property has decided to end the battle and accept a $2.2 million valuation of their property set by a jury in March. The Roanoke Times reports Jay and Stephanie Burkholder decided that financial considerations outweighed their desire to take the hotly disputed issue [...]

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Con law scholar A.E. “Dick” Howard notes the U.S. Supreme Court seems to have gained ethnic and gender diversity while losing much of its geographic and career diversity in the past five decades. Speaking to a Law Day gathering in Roanoke Friday, the University of Virginia professor observed today’s Supreme Court is made up of [...]

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The Influential Women of Virginia awards luncheon was held this past Thursday at the Omni Richmond Hotel. Photos of the event are posted on VLW’s Flickr page. For more information about the awards program, including profiles for the 2010 class of honorees, visit our Influential Women of Virginia event page.

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At least two Northern Virginia legislators have been ripped off by identity thieves in California who used the name of longtime state Sen. Dick Saslaw to buy “medical” marijuana, according to news accounts. A Washington Post blog reports the culprits used Saslaw’s data to have a credit card issued in his name. The credit card [...]

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Richmond lawyer John A. Gibney Jr. was scheduled to cruise through the Senate Judiciary Committee at a routine meeting yesterday morning, but Chariman Pat Leahy, D-Vt., was unable to round up a quorum. Gibney is back on the docket for a committee next Thursday. Virginia’s  two Democratic senators, Jim Webb and Mark Warner recommended him [...]

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A Richmond U.S. District Court upheld a jury verdict for a lawyer whose malpractice carrier denied coverage because of an alleged late notice of claim. But the court set aside nearly all of the $8,400 damage award to the lawyer. On March 2, a Richmond federal jury awarded Richmond-area family law practitioner Terry Batzli damages [...]

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Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has announced sweeping changes in the process for restoring civil rights to former felons. The governor pledges a 60-day turnaround period on all completed applications, compared to a previous standard of six months or more. Those convicted of non-violent felonies may now apply after only two years, instead of three. “When [...]

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Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and his family have moved from Fairfax County to Nokesville in Prince William County. The News & Messenger notes the Cuccinellis bought a 10-acre spread in that community near Manassas. The property sold for $605,000, the newspaper reports. By Peter Vieth

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A husband who voluntarily paid a $3 million equitable distribution award and $72,000 of wife’s attorney’s fees has forfeited his right to challenge the court-ordered payments on appeal, the Court of Appeals said yesterday. But the husband got a consolation prize. The appellate panel in Stephenson v. Musgrave said a Roanoke County Circuit Court erred [...]

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