The VLW Blog

The Senate voted 23-17 today to drastically increase filing fees in general district and circuit courts to provide money for sheriffs and commonwealth’s attorneys.
Proponents of Senate Bill 329, patroned by Sen. Richard H. Stuart, R-Westmoreland, contend there is no other to generate about $50 million and save the jobs of about 1,400 deputy sheriffs.
Critics countered [...]

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Matt Geary, the No. 2 man in the office of Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Mike Herring, is resigning to return to private practice.
Geary was involved in a number of high profile murder cases, including the deaths of six people on his first day in the office in January 2006, but his major contribution to the office [...]

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Former Floyd County Commonwealth’s Attorney Gordon E. Hannett Jr. has agreed to pay $3,500 and to perform 100 hours of community service to avoid trial on charges of stealing the hard drives from computers in the prosecutor’s office.
The charges will be dropped if he performs by April 16.
As reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Hannett never [...]

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Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney Earle Mobley (left) got a public pat on the back Saturday from columnist Roger Chesley at The Virginian-Pilot.
The piece highlight’s Mobley’s unsolicited telephone call to lawyers in a high-profile murder trial underway in nearby Chesapeake.  In that case, special prosecutor Roger Ebert put a jailhouse snitch named Jamaal Skeeter (we couldn’t make [...]

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The Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys has canceled its forum for candidates for the Virginia Court of Appeals.
The forum had been scheduled for Monday at the University of Richmond law school.  In a news release, VACA president Joel R. Branscom said one of the expected participants withdrew, leaving only three of the eight candidates planning [...]

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The Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys has invited the eight candidates for the vacancy on the Virginia Court of Appeals to appear at a forum Monday at 4:30 p.m. in the Moot Courtroom at the University of Richmond.

UR law professor Ronald J. Bacigal will moderate the program. It is open to the public, and questions [...]

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The Commonwealth’s Attorney for Danville is retiring after 39 years.  William H. Fuller III has announced he will not seek re-election this year, reports the Danville Register Bee.  Fuller has been the city’s chief prosecutor since 1970.
UPDATE:  Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Newman wasted no time letting folks know that he will stand for election [...]

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LaBravia Jenkins can keep her work address.  The appointed Commonwealth’s Attorney for Fredericksburg was elected by the voters Tuesday, defeating two other contenders.  As reported by The Free Lance-Star, it was a close vote.
By Peter Vieth

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According to this blog post, there are three candidates, so far, for next month’s election to fill the seat of former Fredericksburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Charles Sharp.  Gov. Timothy M. Kaine in August appointed Sharp to the circuit court bench.
The announced candidates are assistant Fredericksburg prosecutor La Bravia J. Jenkins, local attorney Joseph “Jeh” Hicks, and [...]

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A Campbell County businessman is letting everyone known just how he feels about having to call a halt to weekend automobile sales on his parking lot.
Apparently, roofing supply dealer Melvin T. Morgan used to allow folks to sell their cars on his parking lot, a prominent location on heavily traveled U.S. Route 460 near New [...]

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