The VLW Blog

The fields are shrinking as nomination season approaches for the 2013 state attorney general election. Fairfax Circuit Court Clerk John T. Frey has removed his name from contention for the Republican nomination for AG, according to the Richmond Times Dispatch. The move leaves two state legislators vying for the GOP nomination: Del. Robert B. Bell, [...]

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A Hampton judge who ordered the release of a man he convicted for sexual assault four years ago now finds himself in a showdown with the state attorney general. Hearing evidence that the alleged victim lied in her accusations, and with the agreement of the local prosecutor, Circuit Judge Randolph West last week threw out [...]

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Federal and state government lawyers are trumpeting the formal resolution of a $1.6-billion case against pharmaceutical giant Abbott Laboratories Inc. for off-label marketing of its anti-seizure drug Depakote. A federal judge in Abingdon approved a criminal sentence for Abbott today. Various states and the federal government charged Abbott with illegally promoting the use of Depakote [...]

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Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says local laws imposing special restrictions on temporary political signs are invalid. “Any ordinance that places heavier burdens or greater restrictions on temporary political signs than are placed on any other temporary signs is invalid,” Cuccinelli said in an official opinion letter dated June 1. The opinion was in response [...]

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Calling the exoneration of Thomas Haynesworth a “wake up call” for many in Virginia, state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli sounded a note of caution Tuesday about prosecutors who fail to balance mercy with the desire to punish. He also called for a rewrite of the state’s actual innocence statute. Haynesworth – who otherwise had no [...]

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Culpeper County Commonwealth’s Attorney Gary Close has announced he is resigning in the wake of harsh criticism from a federal judge of his handling of a capital murder case against a teenaged suspect. U.S. District Judge James C. Turk criticized both Close and police detectives who prepared the case against Michael Wayne Hash, who was [...]

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Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli apparently hopes to reassure doubters that a state constitutional amendment to rein in eminent domain powers will not turn into a drain on local taxpayers. A just released official opinion from the AG suggests localities will not have to compensate property owners who claim a nearby public facility is a [...]

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Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, has announced that he will seek the Republican nomination for Attorney General in 2013. He joins Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, who late last week was poised to join the race, advising supporters that he was exploring a bid. Both announcements follow Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s decision to run for governor, rather [...]

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With Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli making it official that he will run for governor in 2013 and not another term as AG, Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, has announced he is “exploring” a run for the office. The conservative blog “Bearing Drift” this morning published an advance copy of a letter that Obenshain will be mailing [...]

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Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli told staffers Thursday he plans to run for governor, setting up a likely primary showdown with Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling. The Washington Post obtained a copy of an email sent by Cuccinelli to members of his staff Thursday afternoon. “[A]as the rumors swirl, I find it necessary to put them [...]

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