The VLW Blog

The Virginia Supreme Court panel studying proposed new judicial circuits and districts has announced details of the six public comment sessions it will hold in July. The first meeting, in Abingdon, is set for Thursday, July 7.
The full meeting schedule is as follows:
Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. – Far Southwest Virginia
Learning Resource Center, [...]

[Read more →]

The message was familiar, but recent events have provided new ammunition for 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Steven Agee as he encourages lawyers to stand up for the third branch of government.
Agee said he perceives a “disconnect” between the importance of the judiciary and legislative budget decisions leaving judgeships unfilled.
“It is a real [...]

[Read more →]

Did you hear the one about the allegedly drunken judge arrested on his way to a toga party? Actually, he was arrested wearing a bedsheet. And he was at a judicial conference, so it’s unlikely there was a toga party on the agenda.
A Pennsylvania magisterial district judge named Douglas Gummo was arrested by cops [...]

[Read more →]

One defamation trial could lead to another as a Richmond circuit judge is seeking $1.35 million against a newspaper that allegedly accused the judge of playing politics with lawyers.
Judge Melvin Hughes filed suit last week against the publisher of “The Richmond Voice” in Chesterfield County Circuit Court.
At issue was an article in the paper describing [...]

[Read more →]

The initial word from the Senate Finance Committee staff is that House and Senate budget conferees have agreed to appropriate $3.72 million to fill judicial vacancies, to leave the Virginia State Bar budget intact and to fund the state’s drug courts.
Details of the budget were not available this morning as the committee staff worked to [...]

[Read more →]

The House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee are polar opposites on the issue of thawing the freeze on filling judicial vacancies.
The Senate committee recommended spending $4.8 million, which would be enough to fill all the vacancies. Not a dime for that purpose under the House committee’s budget.
The House panel would restore all of [...]

[Read more →]

Senators and delegates appear to agree that the time is at hand to look at redistricting the state’s judicial circuits and districts, but the members of the House Courts of Justice Committee are more insistent about making it happen than their Senate counterparts.
This afternoon, the House Courts of Justice Committee reported House Bill 1990 to [...]

[Read more →]

Newport News Circuit Judge Aundria D. Foster has notified the court that she will retire on April 1, 2011.
Although her term does not expire until 2012, she is stepping down due to a family medical situation.
Judge Foster’s departure will leave an open seat in the 7th Judicial Circuit. Newport News Chief Judge H. Vincent [...]

[Read more →]

Frederick County Circuit Judge John Prosser has announced he will retire in March.
The Northern Virginia Daily reports Prosser advised the public Monday, after notifying the Supreme Court on Friday.
Prosser, a former Winchester lawyer, was first appointed to the bench in 1997 by then-Gov. George Allen. The vacancy was created when the General Assembly balked at [...]

[Read more →]

Leroy R. Hassell Jr., son of the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, pleaded guilty to robbery and two other charges Thursday, apparently with no deal on sentencing, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
A life sentence is possible, according to the paper.
Hassell admitted taking part in a two-man robbery using an “airsoft” gun, a type [...]

[Read more →]