The VLW Blog

A federal judge Monday denied bond for former Winchester Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul H. Thomson based on a charge of witness tampering and a positive drug screen. A DEA affidavit claims Thomson, 56, tried to manipulate statements by his alleged former cocaine supplier after the supplier was arrested and started working with police. A local police [...]

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While lawyers and their organizations pressure the General Assembly to find money to fill vacant judgeships, Roanoke judges say they hope the state’s drug courts don’t become a target for Richmond budget cutters. “Every year we have to ask for the money. Every year we face possible extinction,” Roanoke Circuit Judge Jonathan M. Apgar (left) [...]

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A tweet about the difference between “presume” and “assume” did not require an Alexandria U.S. District Court to hold a hearing on possible juror misconduct, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in an opinion released earlier today. Richard Adolphus Forde, who operated an online business called “Tutornet.com,” was convicted of bankruptcy fraud for [...]

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If you beget a child beyond the borders of the commonwealth, you may not be able to get child support through a Virginia court. A Virginia woman whose love affair with a filmmaker living in France left her with a 12-year-old daughter to support cannot sue the film maker for child support in Virginia, the [...]

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The Virginia State Bar Council will have more of a say over the regulations governing mandatory continuing legal education according to a rule change adopted by the Supreme Court of Virginia. Under the changes, the council could reject amendments or regulations from the MCLE Board by a two-thirds vote of council. Moreover, any regulations would [...]

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Gov. Bob McDonnell appointed today an 11-member bipartisan advisory commission on redistricting that includes a retired state judge and at least five attorneys, one of them a former federal district judge. The panel will have an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, and Bob Holsworth, a former political science professor and founder of the nonpartisan [...]

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A restaurant is not liable for a traffic accident involving a delivery driver’s disabled vehicle, in a case that Pizza Hut has been litigating since the mid-00s. On Jan. 4, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a defense verdict for Pizza Hut, in a case that Judge Barbara Milano Keenan calls a “textbook [...]

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A federal grand jury in Richmond indicted former state Del. Phillip A. Hamilton today on charges of bribery and extortion. Hamilton lost his seat in the House and on the powerful Appropriations Committee in 2009 after disclosures that he sought an appropriation of $500,000, reduced from an original request for $1 million, to establish a [...]

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Del. G. Manoli Loupassi wants Virginia drivers to know they will go to jail on a first offense DUI if their blood alcohol level is high enough. To spread the word, Loupassi proposes a $25 special fee for those convicted of DUI to fund an education campaign. Loupassi says a lot of defendants are surprised [...]

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Richmond-based law firm McGuireWoods LLP remains the lone defendant in a securities fraud lawsuit in Kansas after its motion to dismiss was rejected by a federal judge last month. The action was filed by the trustee in the bankruptcy case of Ethanex Energy Inc. The suit claims McGuireWoods partner Louis Zehil unlawfully profited on sales [...]

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