The VLW Blog

The U.S. Supreme Court declined today to review the finding by the Supreme Court of Virginia that Virginia Beach’s noise ordinance was unconstitutional on its face.
Many localities in the state, including Virginia Beach, have reworked their noise ordinances since the Virginia court’s ruling in April. But Virginia Beach also filed a petition for a writ [...]

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The U.S. Supreme court revisited yesterday the effort of states to allow laboratory analysts to present their findings in drug cases through affidavits rather than by live testimony.
The case is from Virginia, which already has changed its laws to conform with Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts.
All eyes were on Justice Sonia Sotomayor, whose vote could overrule Melendez-Diaz [...]

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We’ll never know if former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement had persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to rein in the doctrine of absolute prosecutorial immunity.
But he was certainly persuasive to the defendants in a case in which two men contended that they had served 25 years in prison because prosecutors had doctored the evidence against [...]

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Conservative groups are joining with liberals in opposing what they see as government overreaching on crime.  The anomalous unity is playing out in appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court, reports The New York Times.
The paper notes signs of an “emerging consensus on the right that the criminal justice system is an aspect of big government [...]

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Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wanted to use a case from Virginia to decide whether an anonymous tip is enough to stop a car on suspicion of drunken driving.
But the only colleague who agreed with him that the U.S. Supreme Court should take on the issue was Justice Antonin Scalia. Under the Supreme Court’s [...]

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The Los Angeles Times looks at an issue that may be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court - whether juvenile offenders should be eligible for life without parole.
At issue is whether it is cruel and unusual punishment to sentance a minor to a lifetime of incarceration when the crime does not involve a homicide.
According to [...]

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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas opens a conference on Abraham Lincoln with a speech tomorrow night at Washington & Lee University.
The conference, Lincoln for the Ages: Lessons for the 21st century, will be conducted at Washington and Lee University Friday and Saturday, according to The News Leader.
Justice Thomas’ talk is [...]

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The Virginia Court of Appeals relies on Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts today in reversing a drunken driving conviction.
The case, Grant v. Commonwealth, is the first state appellate decision since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Melendez-Diaz in late June. Grant was pending when Melendez-Diaz was decided, and the Court of Appeals asked for supplemental briefs in light [...]

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Defense attorneys won’t have to spend any time drafting objections to the admission of affidavits and certificates of analysis in lieu of live testimony by analysts from the Virginia Department of Forensic Science.
The Supreme Court of Virginia has conveniently put forms for making the objections on its Web site, ready to be printed and filled [...]

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Since retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has been sitting in on appeals panels around the country.
As a substitute judge, Justice O’Connor has heard nearly 80 cases and written more than a dozen opinions for federal appellate courts, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Justice O’Connor’s latest opinion, Walker v. Prince George’s County, [...]

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