Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

An aerial photograph used to show that defendant had heroin within 1,000 feet of the boundary of school property was not inadmissible hearsay, and the Court of Appeals upholds defendant’s conviction under Va. Code § 18.2-255.2. The officer used an ...

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

The Supreme Court of Virginia affirms a defendant’s convictions of malicious wounding and related charges arising from attacks on two separate women; defendant has cited no controlling legal authority providing that a juvenile has a due process right to have ...

Tagged with: Criminal Justice Elizabeth B. Lacy Supreme Court of Virginia

At defendant’s trial for grand larceny of an automobile under Va. Code § 18.2-95, the commonwealth’s use of the National Automobile Dealer’s Association “blue book” of vehicle values to prove value in excess of $200, as authorized by Code § ...

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

A contractor should have been permitted to withdraw his plea of guilty to construction fraud when he made a timely motion, based on his new attorney’s additional research showing he could demonstrate a lack of intent to commit fraud in ...

Tagged with: Criminal Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr. Supreme Court of Virginia

A defendant discovered passed-out behind the wheel of a vehicle, with the key in the ignition turned to the “on” or “accessory” position, was “operating” the vehicle under Virginia law, and the Supreme Court of Virginia affirms his conviction of ...

Tagged with: Justice Harry L. Carrico Supreme Court of Virginia Traffic Offenses

A defendant cannot be convicted of firearm possession in violation of Va. Code § 18.2-308.2(A)(iii); although he was charged with breaking and entering as a juvenile and court records show a finding of “Guilty,” the records do not show specifically ...

Tagged with: Criminal Justice Cynthia D. Kinser Supreme Court of Virginia

The Supreme Court of Virginia reverses a defendant’s DUI conviction because the trial court erred in admitting a certificate of analysis from a blood test after a police officer arrested defendant for a misdemeanor offense not committed in the officer’s ...

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

A defendant who claimed his estranged wife accidentally shot herself as they wrestled over a gun that he planned to use to commit suicide, cannot overturn his capital murder conviction of his wife; the Supreme Court of Virginia says admission ...

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

Defendants whose criminal sentences for one year or longer provide grounds for deportation from the U.S. cannot win retroactive sentencing relief through writs of coram vobis and audita querela, and the Supreme Court of Virginia reverses decisions from two trial ...

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

A trial court had inherent authority to defer disposition of a defendant’s charge of assaulting an officer, the Supreme Court of Virginia says. In Moreau v. Fuller, we considered whether a court, having taken a criminal case under advisement for ...

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