The VLW Blog

The Supreme Court of Virginia will be asked to review a hard-fought Charlottesville wrongful death case where the judge slashed a death verdict by more than $4 million and imposed a record-breaking sanctions award against a plaintiff’s lawyer.
Both sides have filed notices of appeal in the case of Lester v. Allied Concrete Co., according to [...]

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In its first published opinion released in a month, the Virginia Court of Appeals today rejected a double jeopardy claim and upheld larceny convictions for Ronald Arthur Tharrington.
Convicted in the Chesapeake Circuit Court, Tharrington argued the trial court should have dismissed indictments that charged both grand larceny under Va. Code § 18.2-95 and larceny [...]

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Lurking among Monday’s unpublished opinions of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a cautionary tale for appellate lawyers who like to play it close to the deadline with their court filings.
A lawyer tried to explain his one-day-overdue notice of appeal by reference to an alleged computer glitch.
In his account, the attorney was counting [...]

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A General Assembly bill apparently aimed at lawsuits against Virginia Tech would give the state government a pre-trial appeal of right to the Virginia Supreme Court whenever a trial court denies the defense of sovereign immunity.
Senate Bill 1381 is sponsored by Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Rocky Mount. The bill contains language that would apply its provisions [...]

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On the heels of the ‘Shaggy defense’ comes a drug case out of the Maryland Court of Appeals. Our sister paper, the Daily Record, reports on a recent opinion that peppers in not one, but two, colorful pop culture references.
“Reminiscent of a scene from a Cheech & Chong* movie,” Judge Glenn Harrell begins his majority [...]

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Appellate lawyers familiar with the small green, yellow, and red argument timing lights used by appeals courts are confronted with a much different system when they make their cases to the Supreme Court of Virginia’s traveling writ panels.
As lawyers assembled today in a small courtroom in Salem for writ hearings, many were surprised to see [...]

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If you’re asking the Court of Appeals to consider an issue of first impression, your appeal won’t be kicked under Rule 5A:20 for failing to cite precedent directly on point.
Duh, you say. But it’s more complicated than you might think.
Rule 5A:20, which covers “Questions Presented,” requires an appellant’s opening brief to cover the “principles [...]

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