Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

Where the trial court dismissed charges of felony assault of a police officer and misdemeanor obstruction of justice against appellees, this was error. Even assuming without deciding that the officers violated the Fourth Amendment when entering the appellees’ property, this ...

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

The trial court correctly excluded proffered evidence to impeach a minor rape victim’s credibility. Further, evidence that appellant twice refused to provide a DNA sample was properly admitted. Appellant’s rape and indecent liberties convictions are affirmed. Facts S.D. accused appellant ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Marla Graff Decker Virginia Court of Appeals

Where appellant was convicted of drug offenses and firearm charges, his prior criminal history was properly authenticated with court orders from prior cases. The trial court correctly rejected his argument that the orders were inadmissible because they contained electronic signatures ...

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

Where appellant was convicted of sodomizing a child under 13 years old, a detective’s comment to appellant before a polygraph examination that if he had penetrated the child with his tongue, he “needed to get up and walk out of ...

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

Where the trial court imposed suspended sentences for appellant’s felony and misdemeanor convictions, placed him on one year of supervised probation and expressly stated a good behavior condition, a later probation revocation order lacking such condition did not prevent the ...

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

Where the defendant acted nervously and evasively and was in close proximity to a firearm inside the car, the police had a reasonable suspicion to move him away from the gun. And, because of the strong odor of marijuana, which ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Rebecca Beach Smith U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Petitioner is entitled to have her plea-based petit larceny conviction vacated because counsel did not advise her of the consequences the plea could have on her immigration status. Facts Petitioner, born in El Salvador, became a lawful permanent United States ...

Tagged with: Criminal Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Stephen C. Shannon Virginia Circuit Courts

Whether welfare overpayments based on fraud meet the $200 statutory threshold for grand larceny is determined by calculating the difference between the benefits paid and the benefits that would have been paid absent any fraud. In this case, there was ...

Tagged with: Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons Criminal Supreme Court of Virginia

Where a North Carolina statute authorized warrantless searches of post-release supervisees by a probation officer, the search of defendant’s apartment was not unlawful, even though his own supervision agreement only authorized warrantless searches of his residence by his assigned probation officer, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Robert B. King

Although the defendant’s statement admitting possession of a gun was involuntary, his motion to suppress failed because prior to any involuntary admissions, the police believed he possessed a weapon, had probable cause to search the car and would have inevitably ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Diana Gribbon Motz