The VLW Blog

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli apparently hopes to reassure doubters that a state constitutional amendment to rein in eminent domain powers will not turn into a drain on local taxpayers. A just released official opinion from the AG suggests localities will not have to compensate property owners who claim a nearby public facility is a [...]

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Some lawyer members of a House subcommittee studying proposed Rules of Evidence fear the proposed legislation would change the balance of power between the legislature and the Supreme Court. What happens to the body of common law the Rules codify, and what is the process for changing the Rules, going forward, subcommittee members wanted to [...]

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There are a least five potential candidates for a pending seat on the Court of Appeals. Appeals Court Judge James Haley will be retiring later this year, so the General Assembly will be choosing a successor this session. Maybe. That’s if the House and Senate can get along and the evenly split Democrats and Republicans [...]

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The Virginia General Assembly reelected incumbent judges today, but did not elect two former legislators to the bench. Former Front Royal delegate Clay Athey, a Republican, was up for a seat on the 26th Judicial Circuit in Harrisonburg and former delegate Bud Phillips of Castlewood, a Democrat, was nominated for the 30th General District Court [...]

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A political clash in the state Senate Tuesday delayed otherwise routine Virginia judicial elections at least until Thursday. Democrats and Republicans differed over whether to elect a slate of 49 judges that included two new faces – both former delegates. Democrats claimed they had an understanding that only incumbent judges would be up for re-election, [...]

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Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath Co., has introduced a bill to abolish the Virginia Court of Appeals. Senate Bill 630 would simply do away with Virginia’s 28-year-old intermediate appellate court effective Oct. 1, restoring the Supreme Court’s authority to hear criminal, traffic, domestic and administrative appeals. The judges of the Court of Appeals would remain in [...]

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On the heels of the Senate courts committee’s judicial interviews last Friday, both legislative courts committees have certified incumbent judges for possible re-election by the General Assembly this week. Supreme Court Justice Donald W. Lemons has been certified for another 12-year term on the high court, and Fauquier prosecutor James P. Fisher has been approved [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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