Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

Although the defendant advised a federal witness to just “tell the truth,” a jury reasonably found that her motives were criminal when she met the witness at the request of their mutual friend who was facing trial. Background In 2014, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Dennis W. Shedd

The district court did not err in finding that a developmentally disabled individual, civilly committed as a sexually violent predator, no longer met the criteria for continued commitment and must be released. Background Appellant Walter Wooden was born in 1956 ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge William B. Traxler Jr.

Officers’ search of a defendant’s bag while he was speaking with officers in another room was not incident to lawful arrest, as there was little chance he could reach the bag or control its contents at the time. The firearm ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Evidence Judge Raymond A. Jackson Search & Seizure U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The court of appeals correctly held that convictions for both common-law and statutory involuntary manslaughter under Code § 18.2-154 amounted to unconstitutional double convictions for the same offense. Background A jury convicted Appellee Carroll Gregg of both common law involuntary ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Justice Stephen R. McCullough Supreme Court of Virginia

A circuit court did not err in denying a joint motion to vacate a defendant’s conviction. The Commonwealth had sought several vacaturs after discovering that a Richmond detective misrepresented facts in support of the search warrants he sought. Background In ...

Tagged with: Criminal Per Curiam Opinion Virginia Court of Appeals

The Commonwealth’s evidence was sufficient to prove that the defendant “possessed” files containing images of child pornography, even if the images were “orphan” remnants of deletion from the computer’s file directory. Background In 2015, Detective Mark Belew was investigating computer ...

Tagged with: Criminal Evidence Judge Mary B. Malveaux Virginia Court of Appeals

In the defendant’s trial for trying to cash a fraudulent check, the trial did not err in admitting evidence that allowed the jury to discover that the defendant’s attempt to cash the check occurred in a short period where he ...

Tagged with: Banks & Banking Criminal Evidence Judge Teresa M. Chafin Virginia Court of Appeals

The Commonwealth offered sufficient evidence to prove that the defendant broke into the victim’s house, offering testimony that the defendant recruited an accomplice to inveigle her way into the house and unlock the door. Background In the afternoon of August ...

Tagged with: Criminal Evidence Judge Robert J. Humphreys Virginia Court of Appeals

A woman who accidentally fired into her first-floor hotel room was culpable under Virginia’s unlawful discharge statute. Law enforcement had just persuaded her not to commit suicide, but her gun went off as she was putting it down. Background After ...

Tagged with: Criminal Justice Charles S. Russell Supreme Court of Virginia

A victim already entitled to restitution via criminal proceedings could still seek civil damages for the defendant’s abusive sexual contact, though restitution would be offset by the amount awarded. Background All that remains of this employment case is a single, ...

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