The VLW Blog

Virginia lawmakers are proposing to study trial judges’ caseloads and the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals.
House Bill 745 would give the Supreme Court until October of next year to perform a “weighted caseload” study of judicial work and recommend any changes in the maps of circuits and districts. The bill was offered by Del. [...]

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Del. Ben Cline has introduced a bill to abolish any inherent authority of Virginia judges to defer and dismiss criminal cases if the facts justify a finding of guilt.
House Bill 750 would undermine the holding of the Supreme Court of Virginia in Hernandez v. Commonwealth where the court declared that judges have the inherent authority [...]

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The Republican takeover of the Virginia Senate led to the banishment of two veteran Democratic legislators from the Senate Courts of Justice committee.
Sens. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath County, and Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, were both shown the door as Sens. Jill Vogel, R-Winchester, and Bill Stanley, R-Moneta, were ushered in.
Also named to the Senate Courts committee were [...]

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Last August, former Virginia House Majority Leader Bill Janis, R-Glen Allen, gave up his seat to run as an independent for Henrico County commonwealth’s attorney. His campaign was ultimately unsuccessful, leaving some to speculate what his next move might be.
Now we know.
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Gov. Bob McDonnell has tapped Janis for a political [...]

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Any Virginia court could create a special docket to address the “specialized needs of similarly situated defendants” under legislation proposed by Del. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond.
House Bill 123 appears to be a reaction to a recent memo from Chief Justice Cynthia Kinser advising judges that specialized dockets are limited to those expressly approved by the General [...]

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The latest General Assembly effort to limit deferral of decisions on criminal matters comes from Del. David Albo. chair of the House Courts Committee.
Albo, R-Fairfax, has introduced House Bill 51 to give judges 72 hours to convict or acquit in criminal cases, unless both sides agree to waive the deadline. Judges also could notify the [...]

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Richmond Circuit Judge Beverly W. Snukals has denied an injunction in a Democratic party lawsuit intended to head off Republican control of the Virginia Senate.
In a suit filed by Sen. Don McEachin, D-Richmond, against Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, the Democrats asked the court to declare that Bolling was not entitled to vote to break a [...]

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With headlines about child abuse allegations coming from Penn State and Syracuse University, it’s no surprise to see legislation designed to insure that similar incidents don’t happen here.
Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Manassas, has introduced some of the first legislation of the 2012 General Assembly session, two bills that would amend Virginia Code § 63.2-1509, [...]

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Del. Clay Athey has been nominated by fellow legislators for a seat on the 26th Judicial Circuit bench.
Athey, a Front Royal attorney, did not seek re-election to the House this year. He is being nominated for the vacancy left by this year’s retirement of Judge John Prosser of Winchester.
Del. Steven Landes, R-Weyers Cave, tells the [...]

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Greater collaboration between campus and local police departments is needed when investigating major crimes at Virginia colleges, a Virginia State Crime Commission panel concluded.
At a meeting earlier today, the commission agreed to explore possible legislation that would mandate “mutual aid agreements” between jurisdictions.
The discussion addressed the debate surrounding House Bill 2490, which was introduced in [...]

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