Free Newsletter
Recent Articles from The Associated Press
U.S. appeals panel ponders: what is a pirate?
(AP) — In the violent world of piracy, Mohammad Saaili Shibin was a multilingual negotiator based in lawless Somalia, working his cellphone to negotiate multimillion-dollar ransoms for merchant ships and sailors that dared to venture into pirate-infested international waters off Africa. Does that make him guilty of piracy? The question was the central argument May […]
Virginia audit says half of court fines, fees go unpaid
(AP) Nearly half of the fines and fees levied by Virginia courts for traffic tickets and in criminal cases went unpaid over the past five years, according to a state audit. The state Auditor of Public Accounts report found circuit and district courts assessed an average of $357 million in fines and costs from 2008 […]
VSU student president says hazing plea was coerced
(AP) The president of Virginia State University’s student government association is asking a judge to set aside his hazing conviction, arguing that he only pleaded guilty because the prosecutor said he wouldn’t graduate if he refused. Brandon Randleman, 22, and three others pleaded guilty April 8 to an August hazing incident involving a student. All […]
The Falls Church stays with Epsicopal Diocese, court rules
The Episcopal Church is the rightful owner of a historic church formerly occupied by a congregation that abandoned the denomination over the consecration of an openly gay bishop and other differences, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The justices unanimously upheld Fairfax County Circuit Judge Randy Bellows’ ruling against The Falls Church, one of seven […]
Lawsuit demands Trump return Albemarle land
(AP) A former Virginia socialite’s son who sold the sprawling front yard of his family’s 45-room mansion to the Donald Trump real estate empire says he’s been cheated and wants the land back. The John W. Kluge Jr. Trust has filed a lawsuit demanding the return of 217 acres fronting Albemarle House, which Trump bought […]
Judge will determine Renoir painting’s owner
ALEXANDRIA (AP) A federal judge will seek to unravel an art mystery and determine the rightful owner of a napkin-sized painting by French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir that a Virginia woman says she bought at a flea market for $7. The ownership is in dispute after documents were uncovered showing a Baltimore museum reported the painting […]
State won’t appeal ruling nixing murder conviction
(AP) The state will not appeal a federal judge’s decision tossing out a 1991 Newport News capital murder conviction. U.S. District Judge James Spencer last month cited withheld evidence in vacating David W. Boyce’s murder and robbery convictions and two life sentences. He gave the state 120 days to retry Boyce or set him free. […]
May trial set on Albemarle County removal petition
CHARLOTTESVILLE (AP) A May 20 trial is set on a petition seeking the removal of an Albemarle County official who pleaded guilty to sexual battery. Earl Smith of Keene submitted the petition to the circuit clerk’s office last week. Smith contends that Supervisor Christopher Dumler’s conviction on the misdemeanor charge is hampering his ability to […]
Assembly approves most of governor’s amendments
(AP) The Republican-controlled General Assembly accepted amendments Wednesday by Gov. Bob McDonnell that bar insurers in the federally run health insurance exchange that will operate in Virginia from covering abortion. Lawmakers also cut some costs from the transportation funding measure that will likely be his legislative legacy. They also affirmed his amendments tightening the operational [&hell[...]
Petition seeks removal of Albemarle supervisor
CHARLOTTESVILLE (AP) An Albemarle County resident has submitted a petition to circuit court seeking the removal of a county supervisor who pleaded guilty to sexual battery. Media outlets report that Earl Smith of Keene gave the petition to the circuit clerk’s office on Tuesday. Albemarle County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Higgins has 10 days to […]
Judge rejects death row inmate’s appeal
(AP) — A federal judge has rejected an appeal by a Virginia death row inmate convicted of killing four people in Norfolk. Anthony Juniper was sentenced to death for the 2004 murders of ex-girlfriend Keisha Stevens, her two children and her brother, Ruben Harrison III. U.S. District Judge John Gibney in Richmond said Friday that […]
Drug sale facts did not support felony murder conviction
(AP) — The Virginia Court of Appeals has reversed the felony murder conviction of a Danville man who sold the drug that led to a fatal overdose. Timothy Woodard sold 10 to 15 ecstasy pills that caused Kayla Beame’s death in November 2010. Virginia law allows a felony murder conviction when a person unintentionally kills another […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Plaintiff injured in crash with oncoming vehicle — $235,000 settlement
- Driver killed in rear-end collision with tractor-trailer — $1.5M settlement
- Man died from pancreatic cancer after delayed response — $1.8M settlement
- Worker fell off roof, rendering him a paraplegic — $1.25M settlement
- Driver sustained permanent hearing loss after traffic collision — $240,000 settlement
- Plaintiff suffered concussion in rear-end collision — $81,000 verdict
- Builder misrepresented home status to buyers — $675,000 verdict
- Low potassium led to cardiac arrest, death of patient — $1M settlement
- Excessive propofol caused death in dialysis patient — $850,000 settlement
- Pedestrian struck in crosswalk in hit-and-run incident — $300,000 settlement
- Navy veteran killed in collision with box truck — $1.85M arbitration award
- Motorcyclist ejected from bike in collision with SUV — $1.5M settlement
Opinion Digests
- Company owner dodges breach of contract suit
- Employee’s own allegations doom minimum wage claim
- Federal government defeats former employee’s claims
- Principal wasn’t entitled to exclusively remote work
- USPTO properly redacted info in responsive documents
- Untimely lawsuit allowed to proceed
- Engineering consultant dismissed from suit
- Rule 60 motion was filed too late
- Nonprofit directors immune from ex-employees’ claims
- City, employees immune from whistleblower claims
- Experts excluded in condemnation damages suit
- Judgment entered against company for horse’s death
