Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

Even assuming without deciding that an autopsy report was testimonial and that defendant had a right to confront the report’s author at the preliminary examination, any error caused by the author’s absence was harmless. The author of a forensic pediatric ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge David W. Lannetti Norfolk Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts

A defendant who stole the victim’s purse is guilty of robbery, and not merely larceny, because a rational factfinder could have inferred the victim resisted the defendant’s attempt to take her purse and that he had to use some amount ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Glen A. Huff Virginia Court of Appeals

Although a defendant was not aware that the victim had undergone Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy until after his trial was completed, he was not entitled to a new trial based on after-discovered evidence because the victim had been ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals

Police officers did not coerce a defendant’s confession when they arrested him immediately upon his discharge from the hospital and began their questioning shortly after he had taken pain medication. Background On Dec. 27, 2015, Andre Marquise Harris was admitted ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals

An officer had probable cause to conduct a full search of a defendant during a traffic stop where the defendant, and the vehicle he was in, smelled of marijuana, a police alert indicated that the defendant could be armed, and ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge William G. Petty Virginia Court of Appeals

Where a police officer, after fatally wounding a shoplifting suspect, told a store loss-prevention officer, “I need you as a witness. It’s my second one[,]” his voluntary manslaughter conviction is affirmed because he did not challenge the Court of Appeals’ ...

Tagged with: Criminal Published Order Supreme Court of Virginia

Where a juror had to be excused after expressing fear that she would be retaliated against if she found the defendants guilty, the other jurors, who confirmed their ability to be fair and impartial, were not tainted, and the defendants ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Julius N. Richardson

A 30-day sentence imposed after a defendant validly waived his right to counsel on a misdemeanor charge was properly included in the calculation of defendant’s criminal history score under the Sentencing Guidelines. Background On Aug. 8, 2017, a federal grand ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge James A. Wynn Jr.

A district court did not err in admitting a police officer’s photographs of a drug transaction, or a call between defendant and an informant, because the evidence was properly authenticated and sufficiently reliable. Although the jury refused to convict of ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Paul V. Niemeyer

A defendant was entitled to be resentenced where his base level offense was increased after the trial court incorrectly concluded that his prior conviction for assaulting, beating or wounding a law enforcement officer while resisting arrest constituted a crime of ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Per Curiam Opinion