Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

A defendant who did not instruct his attorney to bring an appeal cannot later claim the attorney rendered ineffective assistance of counsel for not appealing his sentence. Background Petitioner was indicted in a 16-count indictment on Oct. 15, 2015. On ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Jackson L. Kiser U.S. District Court - Western District

The government is entitled to an evidentiary hearing on the issue of whether to forcibly medicate a convicted felon to restore him to competency. Background On July 23, 2008, Kevin Evans was charged with knowingly and intentionally assaulting another inmate ...

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

The court rejected virtually all of the post-trial motions filed by a doctor, finding there was sufficient evidence for the jury to convict him on nearly 70 counts of acquiring and possessing controlled substances by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery and deception. ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon U.S. District Court - Western District

Although an inmate had an exemplary record during his 22 years in prison, the court denied his motion to vacate his conviction because the government opposed it. Background On March 5, 1997, after a week-long jury trial, Marty Lorenzo Wright ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Raymond A. Jackson U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In a case where the defendant is alleged to have defrauded elderly victims, the age and financial circumstances were admissible at trial to support the government’s theory that the scheme targeted unsophisticated investors. Background Raeann Gibson is charged with multiple ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mark Davis U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where the evidence was insufficient for the jury to find that a wife knew funds were proceeds from unlawful activity, the money laundering and conspiracy convictions against her cannot be sustained. Background Micro-Enterprise Management Group was created purportedly for the ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Anthony J. Trenga U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Evidence that showed only possible preparation for a robbery and not that a planned robbery was imminent is insufficient to sustain a conviction for attempted robbery and the related conviction for use of firearm. Background At about 5:45 a.m. on ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Jean Harrison Clements Virginia Court of Appeals

The court found that a man challenging his conviction for possession of a firearm was in constructive possession of a firearm because he was driving a vehicle in which a firearm and ammunition were found. Background On the evening of ...

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

A man convicted of first-degree murder failed to prove that the testimony of three witnesses was contradictory and did not support the jury’s verdict that he and two others shot the victim. Background On the morning of July 16, 2014, ...

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

Because a prisoner failed to file a timely objection to a continuance and agreed to a new trial date before objection, no speedy trial violation occurred. Background In June 2014, appellant was sentenced to five years in prison, with four ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Jean Harrison Clements Virginia Court of Appeals