The VLW Blog

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says there are two ways local governments can meet the prevailing legal standard for prayer at government meetings. In an opinion letter arising from the dispute over Christian prayers at Pittsylvania County meetings, Cuccinelli said officials can either request nonsectarian prayers or cast a wide net for clergy so that [...]

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The law student suspected of a break-in at the U.Va. registrar’s office may have used a hidden camera to spy on activities in the office. But the student’s plan seems to have backfired. As The Daily Progress reports, court records indicate the camera caught the suspect in the act. On Dec. 7, just before 3 [...]

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Arlington Circuit Judge Joanne F. Alper will retire from the bench in May, she announced in a news release this week. Alper was the first woman to serve in the 17th Circuit when she was named to the judgeship in 1998. She formerly served on the county juvenile and domestic relations court. “It has been [...]

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With a civil liberties lawsuit hanging over their head, Grayson County leaders reversed themselves and agreed this week to permit a “Peace Pentagon” spiritual center in the rural community. The county’s board of supervisors granted a special use permit for the interfaith retreat planned by the Oracle Institute, an organization founded by former attorney Laura [...]

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If you have a legal document to file in circuit court by Dec. 30, you better check your local courthouse to see if the court will be open. Many courts will close that day, two days before New Year’s Day, but some may not. Virginia circuit courts are on their own in determining whether to [...]

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The State Corporation Commission has approved premium increases for insurance companies that write workers’ compensation coverage in Virginia. Allowed increases top 19 percent for one class of coverage for mine workers, according to figures from the SCC. Workers’ compensation insurance provides medical care and wage replacement benefits to injured workers. Almost all Virginia employers are [...]

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Norfolk U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith this week assumed the duties of chief judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, becoming the first woman judge in that position and the first Norfolk-based judge to serve as chief in 26 years. A native of Hopewell, Smith was appointed to the district court bench in 1989 [...]

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The en banc Virginia Court of Appeals today issued a writ of actual innocence to Thomas Haynesworth, a Richmond man who spent nearly three decades in prison for at least one rape he didn’t commit. An appellate panel heard Haynesworth’s case in March, and the en banc court took up the matter last July. Today [...]

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Just in time for holiday giving, here’s an opportunity to buy a unique piece of Virginia legal history. Carved wooden gargoyles, formerly displayed on the Lynchburg courthouse, will be on sale on eBay until next Saturday, Dec. 17. There are five different gargoyles available and they are being auctioned separately. Each one resembles a lion’s [...]

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Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, has announced that he will seek the Republican nomination for Attorney General in 2013. He joins Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, who late last week was poised to join the race, advising supporters that he was exploring a bid. Both announcements follow Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s decision to run for governor, rather [...]

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