The VLW Blog

Virginia Beach lawyer Claude M. Scialdone pleaded guilty yesterday to possession of cocaine.
Scialdone, 65, had disposition of the charge deferred for a year under the Virginia law that applies to first-time drug offenders.
The charge will be dismissed if he gets in no further trouble while undergoing probation and performing 100 hours of community service. His driver’s [...]

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The Supreme Court of Virginia issued two unpublished orders today, one reaffirming the rule that you can’t get more than you sue for and the second holding that the fourth-offense drunken driving statute permits both a prison term and a fine.

In the ad damnum case, the plaintiff sought “approximately” $50,000 in damages, and the trial [...]

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Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wanted to use a case from Virginia to decide whether an anonymous tip is enough to stop a car on suspicion of drunken driving.
But the only colleague who agreed with him that the U.S. Supreme Court should take on the issue was Justice Antonin Scalia. Under the Supreme Court’s [...]

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A Norfolk Circuit Court has denied a prosecutor’s request for a DUI defendant’s hospital records from the night he was arrested at the hospital where he was taken after a traffic accident.
In a case of apparent first impression, Norfolk Circuit Judge Mary Jane Hall in Commonwealth v. Parks quashed the commonwealth’s subpoena duces tecum issued [...]

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The Virginia Court of Appeals relies on Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts today in reversing a drunken driving conviction.
The case, Grant v. Commonwealth, is the first state appellate decision since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Melendez-Diaz in late June. Grant was pending when Melendez-Diaz was decided, and the Court of Appeals asked for supplemental briefs in light [...]

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A top aide to Gov. Tim Kaine says the special General Assembly session called by the governor is expected to focus solely on the issue of proving scientific tests in court, not on any other legislation that lawmakers might want to advance.
Mark Rubin, counselor to the governor, told a Virginia Bar Association conference today that [...]

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Following a new U.S. Supreme Court case, Fairfax Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush on Friday dismissed DUI charges against a man who allegedly had a BAC of 0.11.
The reason: In June, the high court decided Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, a case generally holding that lab analysts must appear in court rather than merely submit their findings [...]

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The aging and embattled Intoxilyzer 5000 breath alcohol tester this week is scheduled to get its first technical scrutiny by the defense in the Alexandria case of a former New York Congressman charged with drunken driving.
Circuit Judge Nolan B. Dawkins on Thursday granted Rep. Vito Fossella’s motion to allow inspection of the instrument “with an [...]

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Alexandria General District Judge Becky J. Moore yesterday imposed a five-day jail sentence for Rep. Vito Fossella, R-N.Y., for his Virginia DUI conviction.
The Washington Post reports the congressman has noted an appeal.

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A helicopter pilot giving rides to children during last year’s Suffolk Peanut Fest has pleaded guilty to felony child neglect and reckless operation of an aircraft for flying while drunk.
As reported by WVEC, police recorded a BAC of .116 for Florida pilot [...]

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