Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

Virginia election officials are asking a federal judge to put a hold on his recent ruling striking Virginia’s “Incumbent Protection Act.” The law allows certain incumbent legislators to decide how their party’s nominee will be selected, regardless of the party’s ...

Tagged with: Judge Michael F. Urbanski U.S. District Court - Western District

Prosecutors could no longer cut a plea deal requiring a defendant to forego expungement of charges, under a bill passed by the Senate Feb. 1. Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Mount Vernon, sponsored Senate Bill 608. He said he proposed the legislation to ...

Tagged with: General Assembly

A group of Norfolk jurors may decide whether rusty locks on a pedestrian bridge would justify a court-ordered remedy. A Norfolk circuit judge says under a 1919 law, he will impanel a special grand jury to determine whether so-called “love ...

Tagged with: Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. Norfolk Circuit Court

Accusations of discovery lapses may be common in civil litigation, but what does a lawyer do when his opponent simply ignores routine discovery requests? While attorneys agree it’s rare for a litigant to make no response whatsoever to standard written ...

Tagged with: Justice Barbara Milano Keenan Justice Cynthia D. Kinser Justice Donald W. Lemons Justice Elizabeth B. Lacy Justice Harry L. Carrico Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr. Justice Leroy R. Hassell Sr. Supreme Court of Virginia News

The latest study of Virginia criminal discovery rules produced a fresh report just in time to forestall a legislative rewrite effort this month. Once again, a multi-discipline group is recommending defense access to police reports. The next move is up ...

Tagged with: Virginia State Bar

Facing a handful of legislative plans for public access to court records, the Supreme Court of Virginia says, in essence, “Leave it to us.” In a Jan. 23 press release, the court said it will promulgate a court rule concerning ...

Tagged with: Supreme Court of Virginia

A Southwest Virginia circuit judge has apparently lost his seat on the bench despite the endorsement of his local bar, a clean performance survey and no public opposition at the General Assembly. The action illustrates the endurance of the Assembly’s ...

Tagged with: Judge Henry A. Vanover

Another judge has allowed a medical malpractice plaintiff to examine health care training materials over the objection of a defendant nursing home. Gloucester County Circuit Judge Designate William H. Shaw III – a retired Middle Neck judge – allowed discovery ...

Tagged with: Gloucester County Circuit Court Judge William H. Shaw III

A verdict handed down by a Fairfax jury in a medical malpractice suit tops the list in Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s compilation of “Largest Verdicts” for 2017. When a 55-year-old woman died from complications after a balloon used during a noninvasive surgery ...

The 2018 General Assembly could produce a blueprint for giving lawyers, and the general public, unprecedented access to state court case records. A court decision seen as a setback for open government has spawned at least five proposals to allow ...