Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

There was sufficient evidence to sustain appellant’s second-degree murder conviction. Further, the trial court correctly refused to strike the testimony of a key trial witness despite appellant’s argument that she was unreliable and not credible. Although the record shows the ...

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

Where, many years after his plea-based murder convictions, appellant moved to vacate the judgment and his life sentences because he had undiagnosed mental illness when he was convicted, the trial court correctly concluded it lacked jurisdiction to consider appellant’s motion. ...

Tagged with: Criminal Virginia Court of Appeals

Where the court sentenced appellant within the sentencing guidelines and weighed her mitigating evidence against her “significant criminal history of distributing drugs,” there was no abuse of discretion. The court was under no obligation to impose a sentence below the ...

Tagged with: Criminal Virginia Court of Appeals

Where the trial court denied appellant’s motion to reconsider his sentence without conducting a hearing, there was no error. Prior proceedings Defendant was convicted of selling drugs to an undercover agent who posed as a prostitute. “At sentencing, defense counsel ...

Tagged with: Criminal Virginia Court of Appeals

Where appellant entered an Alford plea to felony contractor fraud, his argument that he was sentenced based on an incomplete sentencing report cannot be addressed. Appellant did not file a transcript of the sentencing hearing. No transcript “Hendricks asserts that ...

Tagged with: Criminal Virginia Court of Appeals

Where appellant claims for the first time on appeal that his guilty pleas to drunken driving offenses were not voluntarily made, he is not entitled to the “good cause” exception in Rule 5A:18 to excuse his failure to preserve the ...

Tagged with: Criminal Virginia Court of Appeals

Where the police illegally detained appellee, he could not validly consent to a search. The trial court properly applied the exclusionary rule to suppress his statements and evidence discovered during the search. Background After Martinez passed out in an Uber ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Daniel E. Ortiz Virginia Court of Appeals

Where a prosecutor and the Arlington County Police Department have requested a geo-fence search warrant, the warrant will not issue because it “lacks sufficient particularity and reads as a general warrant.” Relevant facts “The Commonwealth’s Attorney, with the Arlington County ...

Tagged with: Arlington County Circuit Court Criminal Judge Daniel Fiore II Virginia Circuit Courts

Although some factors weigh in defendant’s favor concerning his speedy trial claims, he is not entitled to relief because he has not shown any particularized prejudice. Background A grand jury indicted defendant Edwards and three others on Aug. 4, 2021, ...

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

Where a criminal defendant demands jury sentencing, there is no statutory right to revoke the request. The exception to this rule is the situation in which a defendant makes an early demand for jury sentencing and then decides to revoke. ...

Tagged with: Criminal Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge David A. Oblon Virginia Circuit Courts