The VLW Blog

The House of Delegates Tuesday gave unanimous approval to a plan for subtle but effective changes in Virginia’s actual innocence process. The actual innocence reform bill had been sent back to the House Courts Committee Jan. 28 after delegates voted against a floor amendment that would have allowed a second petition for actual innocence in [...]

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The Court of Appeals of Virginia has upheld the embezzlement conviction of former Richmond Social Security lawyer Kyle C. Leftwich. Leftwich was convicted in 2011 of taking $450,000 from the firm of Marks & Harrison by pocketing attorney fees paid to her by the Social Security Administration. Under her employment contract, the fees belonged to [...]

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It may not provide much comfort to those who fear lawsuits from bullet-riddled trespassers, but a new Virginia Court of Appeals decision affirms the availability of a self-defense claim in the shooting of a threatening dog. The outcome is reversal of a felony criminal conviction for a Chesterfield County man who shot and killed a [...]

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A measure to reform Virginia’s actual innocence procedure has been sent back to a General Assembly workshop, possibly for additional tinkering. Faced with a floor amendment, the House of Delegates voted to re-refer the measure to the House Courts committee for further study. The legislation – House Bill 1432 – is aimed at fine tuning [...]

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The former chief of the Pennington Gap police department acknowledged in a plea deal Monday that he orchestrated a September break-in at a town drug store to get pain killer pills. William B. Young, 39, faces up to 40 years behind bars after pleading guilty to two felonies, according to a news release from the [...]

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Michael Hash of Culpeper, who spent nearly 12 years in prison before his capital murder conviction was overturned by a federal judge, has filed suit against the people who prosecuted him. Hash’s suit in Charlottesville federal court names five law enforcement officials and a jailhouse snitch. He claims the law enforcement officials, including former Culpeper [...]

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A former staffer at a Norfolk law firm received both a scolding and a year behind bars for embezzling more than $100,000 from the firm. Kristi Rind, 34, had worked for Warren & Associates for 12 years as an assistant, paralegal and bookkeeper, reports The Virginian-Pilot. “She became a very trusted and loyal employee,” said [...]

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A Louisa County man convicted of lying about his finances to qualify for a state-paid defense lawyer now faces additional prison time for beating his tenant. Thanks to a series of news reports, William Henry became the “poster child” for what the county prosecutor calls a “problem with the system” that allows people with means [...]

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And it didn’t cost him a dime. The words of a 1976 novelty song by Johnny Cash come to mind in the case of a Navy officer accused of building his own airplane from parts he ordered through his Navy job. Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Lee Tappen has pleaded guilty to filing a false report and [...]

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Two recent opinions from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli should come as a relief for a member of the Wise County School Board. The opinions also appear to strengthen the governor’s power to restore civil rights to former felons. Rocky Cantrell’s ability to serve as an elected school board member was called into question because of [...]

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