The VLW Blog

A Henrico County lawyer who wanted another tour of duty on the Virginia State Bar Council will get his wish, after defeating an incumbent representative. Daniel L. Rosenthal, who previously served two three-year terms, will return to council after competing with the two incumbents who sought reelection, Thomas A. Edmonds and Roger T. Creager. Edmonds, [...]

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Virginia House Majority Leader Bill Janis, R-Glen Allen, is said to be planning a run as an independent for Henrico County commonwealth’s attorney in the wake of the Republican Party’s public rejection of its nominated candidate. WWBT references several sources who say Janis will run. GOP leaders have called on Matt Geary to quit the [...]

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A former attorney who surrendered her law license after she admitted she stole as much as $450,000 from the firm of Marks & Harrison has been indicted on eight felony embezzlement charges. Kyle Cornelia Leftwich was charged last week by the Richmond Metropolitan Multijurisdictional Grand Jury, according to Assistant Chesterfield County Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert J. [...]

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Economic stimulus money means more opportunities for enforcement of child support obligations. Virginia collected more than $639 million in child-support payments in the past 12 months, up $10 million from the previous year, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. In many cases, the Virginia Department of Social Services has relied on unemployment benefits, tax refunds and stimulus [...]

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Handed down a year ago, the decision in Ford Motor Co. v. Benitez was one of the top legal news stories in 2007. In Benitez, the Supreme Court of Virginia upheld a $2,000 sanction against a defense attorney who, after discovery and a nonsuit in a products liability case, continued to press affirmative defenses with [...]

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In Commonwealth v. Price, an opinion released this afternoon, Henrico County Circuit Judge L.A. Harris Jr. upheld the civil remedial fees for “dangerous drivers” under Virginia Code § 46.2-206.1. Defendant Anthony O. Price argued the fees are unconstitutional, in that they are levied against Virginia drivers, but not against drivers from other states traveling through [...]

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The first circuit judge to consider the constitutionality of Virginia’s civil remedial fees said he hopes to rule next week. Henrico Judge L.A. Harris Jr. heard brief arguments today from prosecutor Duncan P. Reid and from defense attorney Craig S. Cooley, who is representing Anthony O. Price along with Esther J. Windmueller. General District Judge [...]

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Two days. Two rulings that Virginia’s civil remedial fees are unconstitutional. Yesterday, it was Henrico General District Judge Archer L. Yeatts III, who acknowledged that he is obliged to enforce the law if there is any rational basis for it. However, “The court rejects the speculations postulated by the Commonwealth, and mindful of its of [...]

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