Last year, a Norfolk federal court convicted a group of Somali nationals of piracy, and on May 23, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that conviction, in a decision that said the defendants could be convicted of piracy for attacking a ship, even without seizing or robbing it. In a companion case, the appellate panel vacated another Norfolk federal court’s dismissal of indictments against a second group of alleged pirates and remanded their case for trial.

The first case, U.S. v. Dire, describes one of the attacks. Three of the defendants, all Somali nationals, thought they had spotted a vulnerable merchant ship in the dark early morning hours of April 1, 2010, off the coast of Somalia. The pirates, sailing a small skiff, attacked the ship with light arms.

What they had actually spotted was the USS Nicholas, a Navy frigate armed with missiles and torpedoes, in the Indian Ocean to conduct anti-piracy missions. The attack lasted about 30 seconds, with predictable results: The Nicholas captured the three men, sank their skiff and chased down and captured a nearby “mother ship,” seizing the remaining two defendants. No American sailors were harmed.

Once aboard the American ship, the defendants confessed to participating in a scheme to hijack a merchant vessel and hold it for ransom, providing details about their planned operation. According to the appellate opinion, the Nicholas had been lit to disguise itself as a merchant vessel.

In a trial conducted by Norfolk U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis, the defendants were convicted of piracy and 12 other counts. The court sentenced all five to life sentences, plus an additional 80 years. The appellate court had to consider whether the “fleeting and fruitless” attack on the Nicholas amounted to a piracy offense as defined under the federal statute because it was unsuccessful – the defendants boarded the Nicholas only as captives and took no property.

The appeals court rejected that narrow definition of the crime, in an opinion tracing the history of the legal treatment of piracy as a scourge of the high seas. Judge Robert B. King’s unanimous majority opinion said a defendant did not have to rob or seize a ship in order to have committed piracy.

The attack on the USS Nicholas was consistent with an accustomed pattern of Somali pirate attacks, according to King. In 2009, a U.S. merchant ship was hijacked and held for ransom by Somali pirates before being freed by the U.S. Navy.

Applying the same modern-day definition to modern-day pirates in a companion case, U.S. v. Said, King said Norfolk U.S. District Court Raymond A. Jackson should not have dismissed indictments against five other Somali nationals who attacked another ship, the USS Ashland.
–David Donovan, NC Lawyers Weekly

Roanoke’s Matt Broughton, who represented the family, said the money will be paid through the state’s risk management agency. Most of it will go to the victim’s two daughters, he said.

Hunt’s attorney, Jim Guynn of Salem, told The Roanoke Times some media reports about the dramatic incident last Memorial Day would have made it difficult for Hunt to get a fair trial.

The deputy accused in the case faces trial for murder next month.

As The Washington Post reports, the judges rejected license suspension for Fairfax County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Mark Sullivan, but admonished him for allowing two co-defendants to testify they were not offered any deals for fingering another man.

In fact, evidence showed Sullivan had agreed to reduce one charge and advise the sentencing judge about the pair’s cooperation.

Evidence of Sullivan’s silence about the deal resulted in a new trial for a man convicted in a 2009 robbery and abduction.

A newspaper reporter is challenging the decision of a Newport News judge to block access to certain evidence in a criminal case. Two members of a three-judge Court of Appeals panel decided that, because the appeal does not concern the actual criminal conviction, it belongs at the Supreme Court.

Judge Larry G. Elder dissented on that point – he said the Court of Appeals had jurisdiction to consider the case. His opinion goes on to argue that the circuit judge failed to articulate sufficient grounds to deny access to the disputed evidence.

In the underlying case, parents of two children were convicted of second-degree murder in the death of a daughter and felony child neglect of both children.

By Peter Vieth

As the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports, the six circuit judges in Richmond have the authority to make an interim appointment for the funded-but-unfilled vacancy on the general district bench. Richmond legislators who supported Thorne-Begland in the General Assembly have not wavered in their endorsements, the paper says.

Any person selected by the circuit judges would serve only until the next General Assembly session unless the Assembly elected that person for a full term as judge.

Del. Manoli Loupassi tells the paper he thinks the outcome of the House vote might be different if Thorne-Begland were up for election again. Other sources suggest conservatives would mount a coordinated campaign to again deny him a judgeship.

Thorne-Begland’s bid for a judgeship has become an issue in the U.S. Senate campaign in Virginia, as The Washington Post reports. Del. Bob Marshall, one of the Senate candidates, led the opposition to Thorne-Begland on the House floor in Richmond.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey Bryant tells the station certain judges hand out little or no jail time for drunken or drugged drivers.

A member of Mothers Against Drunk Driving says she and others are monitoring the court to try to keep track of repeat offenders who get off lightly.

Virginia Beach charges more drunken driving offenses than any other Virginia locality, and 20 percent are repeat offenders.

According to Charlottesville lawyer Thomas E. Albro, Virginia state chair, the college recently inducted these individuals:

• Claire Cardwell, Richmond

• William E. Glover, Fredericksburg

• John E. Lichtenstein, Roanoke

Albro noted that an invitation to be a Fellow is extended only to trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality.

Lawyers must have a minimum of 15 years of trial experience before they can be considered for fellowship. Membership in the college cannot exceed 1 percent of the total lawyer population of a state.

For her essay to be considered, Rakhmatullaeva was required to interview at least one woman judge and one female member of Virginia’s General Assembly.

Rakhmatullaeva, a senior at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, plans to attend Marymount University next year; she is interested in International Business.

The VAWJ presented the scholarship at the Virginia State Capitol at a May 5 luncheon which brought together sitting and retired judges from across the Commonwealth to celebrate with the family of the scholarship winner.

According to Portsmouth General District Judge Roxie Holder, president of the VAWJ, the scholarship is designed not only to provide financial assistance but also to increase awareness of the functions of, and women’s contributions to, the legislative and judicial branches of the government. The VAWJ is a chapter of the National Association of Women Judges and includes female judges on Virginia’s state and federal benches

In a lengthy post on Facebook, he explained his reasons.

He said he had been getting many inquiries, which he did not discourage.

But “[t]o run for public office, a lot of pieces must be in place: family, financial, professional and spiritual. A candidate must also have a vision which is congruent with the moment…. Timing is everything,” he said.

“2013 is not my time,” he said.

“I’m very blessed right now to have a growing family, a busy law practice and a seat in the Virginia Senate,” he added. “Those obligations, plus additional ones with church and community, will take up my time for the next two years.”

A candidate for statewide office must “24/7 at least a year prior. I can’t make that commitment right now. I can’t even make it in the next 2-3 months,” he said.

Even though he won’t be in the race, Petersen said that he wants to be engaged. “ I have a lot of ideas, both substantive and political, which I’d like to offer” the eventual Democratic nominee, he said, thanking everyone who had encouraged him to run.

- Paul Fletcher

The budget for the fiscal year that ends in June included $4.2 million for extra pay for court-appointed lawyers in time-consuming cases. The Supreme Court had processed $3.7 million for waiver payments as of May 8, according to a memo from the court. There was just $343,730 in the account as of Thursday, reported Executive Secretary Karl R. Hade.

At the current rate of payment, the waiver money will run out in early June, Hade said. Once that fund is exhausted, vouchers submitted with court-approved waiver payments will be automatically reduced to the basic fee, without the waiver amount.

The waiver drought would last only until July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

In a similar scenario, the fee cap money ran out in mid-April in 2010.