The VLW Blog

A federal grand jury in Richmond indicted former state Del. Phillip A. Hamilton today on charges of bribery and extortion. Hamilton lost his seat in the House and on the powerful Appropriations Committee in 2009 after disclosures that he sought an appropriation of $500,000, reduced from an original request for $1 million, to establish a [...]

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Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says district courts have the same authority to impose sanctions as circuit courts under both Virginia Code § 8.01-271.1 and their inherent authority to protect the public and the judicial process. Cuccinelli reached that conclusion in an opinion requested by Barbara J. Gaden, chief judge of the Richmond General District Court. [...]

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General District Judge Norman deVere “Dev” Morrison retired yesterday after 24 years on the bench. Before his judicial appointment in 1985, Judge Morrison served as the Berryville town attorney and as a substitute judge. During his career, he has sat in every court in the 26th Judicial Circuit, but mainly ruled over cases in Clarke [...]

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Amy Tisinger was sworn in yesterday as the first female judge on the general district bench in Shenandoah County. She replaces Judge Norman Morrison, who is retiring, reports the Northern Virginia Daily. For the past 10 years, Tisinger has been a prosecutor with the commonwealth’s attorney’s office, and spent four years working for William B. [...]

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The News Leader spoke with retired Judge A. Lee McGratty, who defends the methods he used to move cases along when he was on the bench. McGratty, who presided in both the Staunton and Augusta County general district courts, said his blunt demeanor in the courtroom was necessary. Due to an overwhelming caseload – sometimes [...]

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Virginian-Pilot columnist Kerry Dougherty got an interesting piece out of her trip to general district court for the trial of a photographic exhibitionist. Thanks and a tip of the hat to Steve Minor for spotting this.

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A Suffolk general district judge has delayed the verdict in an assault case after getting assurances from the defense attorney, a member of the General Assembly, that lower court judges can do so, The Virginian-Pilot reports. Judge James A. Moore delayed judgment for a year in a case brought by a church secretary against a [...]

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