Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

A defendant lost his motion to suppress because the record contained no evidence that law enforcement officers intentionally or deliberately waited to advise him of his rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966) until he admitted to criminal ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge John A. Gibney Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where a hit and run victim later died from his injuries, the felony hit and run can serve as the predicate offense for a felony homicide conviction. Appellant, the hit and run driver, was properly convicted of both charges because ...

Tagged with: Criminal Justice William C. Mims Supreme Court of Virginia

There was sufficient evidence to support appellant’s convictions of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. However, his double jeopardy protections were violated because both convictions arose from the same incident. On remand, the trial court must ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Randolph A. Beales Virginia Court of Appeals

Assuming, without deciding, that there was sufficient evidence to support a manslaughter instruction at appellant’s first-degree murder trial, any error in failing to given the requested instruction would be harmless. Because the jury returned a first-degree murder verdict, it never ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Clifford L. Athey Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

Where appellant offered a self-defense claim to a second-degree murder charge, the trial court properly excluded portions of his police interview containing hearsay statements relating to the victim’s violent reputation. The court allowed appellant to present non-hearsay evidence to bolster ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Clifford L. Athey Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

Although the defendant argued the commonwealth violated his constitutional rights by failing to produce potentially exculpatory evidence, his petition for a successive habeas petition was denied because he could not demonstrate that newly discovered evidence would have resulted in a ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Albert Diaz

Where a defendant’s “gross driver error” resulted in a fatal crash, an odor of alcohol was coming from his car and he was combative with first responders, there was probable cause to take blood for a toxicology analysis or, at ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Pamela A. Harris

As the government has an important interest in prosecuting a defendant charged with the premeditated murder of his cellmate, there will be a hearing to determine whether the defendant will be forced to take antipsychotic medication to restore his competency ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Pamela Meade Sargent U.S. District Court - Western District

Where appellant made a stolen check payable to herself, forged the check owner’s signature, used her own driver’s license as identification but left the bank before completing the transaction, she was properly charged with attempted identity theft. Identifying information “Code ...

Tagged with: Criminal Justice LeRoy F. Millette Jr. Supreme Court of Virginia

The circuit court correctly rejected appellant’s accommodation defense, which would have entitled him to a lesser punishment for possessing heroin with intent to distribute. The accommodation evidence offered was unrelated to the transaction for which he was convicted. Background Appellant ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals