The VLW Blog

A former substitute judge in Shenandoah County has agreed to serve 30 days in jail for possession of marijuana. Attorney James Allamong was arrested last fall after authorities found marijuana plants growing on his property while investigating a nearby fire. He was charged with felony possession with intent to distribute, and felony manufacturing of marijuana. [...]

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Hopewell General District Judge Kenneth Nye has been cleared to hold court again as a retired judge. Nye presided over court Thursday, according to court clerk Deborah Hatcher. Nye was asked to step aside from judicial duties in April after Hopewell Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Newman complained about Nye’s practices as a judge, including an alleged [...]

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The Supreme Court of Virginia has agreed to consider a case involving a judge’s discretion in taking a DWI charge under advisement and substituting a different charge in the ultimate finding of guilt. The underlying criminal case in Kelley v. Stamos arose before the touchstone case of Hernandez v. Com. was decided by the Supreme [...]

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Virginia judicial leaders are getting ready to take a close look at how busy the state’s judges are. Supreme Court Chief Justice Cynthia D. Kinser has appointed an 18-member advisory committee to assist the court in its General Assembly-mandated study of trial court caseloads. At the same time, the Judicial Council of Virginia will measure [...]

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The Virginia Association of Women Judges recently awarded its annual $500 scholarship to Dildora Rakhmatullaeva, a graduating high school senior who wrote an essay about the benefits of women’s full participation in the legislative and judicial branches of government. For her essay to be considered, Rakhmatullaeva was required to interview at least one woman judge [...]

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The U.S. Senate has consented to President Barack Obama’s appointment of Charleston, W.Va., attorney Stephanie Thacker for the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The president nominated Thacker this past September. Yesterday evening, the Senate voted 91-3 in her favor, according to The West Virginia Record. Thacker has been in private practice with a Charleston [...]

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The Arlington Sun Gazette is reporting that Arlington could get not one, but two circuit judges in the budget deal recently hammered out by Senate and House conferees. The conference report will be released to the public Sunday, and legislators will return next Tuesday, April 17, to vote. Arlington very shortly will have only one [...]

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The joint House and Senate Courts of Justice Committees will meet this afternoon to conduct interviews of judicial candidates. In addition to the nine candidates for the vacancy in the Virginia Court of Appeals created by the retirement of Judge James W. Haley Jr., candidates for a long list of vacancies and potential vacancies will [...]

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A longtime veteran prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s office has been named a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia. The judges of the U.S. District Court appointed David J. Novak to the position, effective Feb. 1, 2012. Novak succeeds U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis W. Dohnal, who recently retired from the bench. Novak, [...]

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The House Courts committee has killed a bill designed to keep evidence in district court civil cases from the eyes of circuit judges hearing the cases on appeal. House Bill 284 took aim at circuit judges inclined to prejudge a district court case before hearing the evidence in new proceedings. When a lower court decision [...]

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