Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

Even though appellant agued self-defense to the jury, his assignment of error on appeal – that “the Commonwealth’s evidence failed to exclude the reasonable hypothesis of innocence that [he] possessed a reasonable apprehension of imminent bodily harm or death and ...

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

A momentous change in Virginia criminal procedure almost went unnoticed at first. An end to jury sentencing for criminal defendants won final approval from the House of Delegates on a Friday evening as the General Assembly brought its pandemic-driven special ...

Tagged with: Criminal General Assembly Senate Judiciary Committee Sentencing

Where a defendant convicted of murder voluntarily dismissed a parole eligibility claim from his initial 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition after the district court denied his request for a stay in order to exhaust state proceedings, he did not need ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal

Although the defendant argued an affidavit in support of a search warrant did not establish probable cause to search his house for drugs, a tip received by the law enforcement officer that it was a “narcotics home,” and the officer’s ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal

A defendant’s motion to suppress a firearm found in his vehicle was correctly denied where the arresting officer had probable cause to arrest him for driving under the influence, would have searched him incident to that arrest and inevitably would ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal

Where the testimony of co-conspirators and cooperating witnesses, as well as recorded conversations involving the defendant supported a man’s conviction for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, the conviction was affirmed. Background Tony Chevallier appeals his conviction and sentencing for conspiracy to ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal

Where a COVID-19 outbreak at a jail delayed defendant’s review of pre-trial discovery provided by the government, and only a limited number of courtrooms were  appropriate for a jury trial, a continuance was necessary in the “interests of justice” due ...

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

Although the expert opinions of psychiatrists and psychologists are that a defendant charged with kidnapping resulting in death can no longer be restored to competency in order to stand trial, the indictment will remain pending in the event he may ...

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

Where two cases involving a total of eight defendants had been joined because of similarities in the indictments, the interrelationships of the defendants and duplication of various allegations, the challenges of social distancing and limited staff due to COVID-19 prompted ...

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

The trial court should have granted appellant’s motion to suppress drugs found in his vehicle because he broke no law when he crossed a single, solid white line while changing lanes. Thus, there was no justification for the traffic stop. ...

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