Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

In this aggravated malicious wounding case, the jury was correctly instructed that a defendant’s heat of passion defense must arise from the victim’s provocation rather than being provoked by someone else. Further, there was sufficient evidence of malice to support ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Richard Y. AtLee Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

The circuit court retained jurisdiction to revoke appellant’s suspended sentence when it conditioned the suspension on appellant’s compliance with his probation terms, even though the court did not expressly make the suspension period concurrent with the probation period. Background In ...

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

In a case of first impression, the court held that police can conduct warrantless searches of non-vehicular containers incident to a lawful arrest only when the arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance of the container at the time of ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge James A. Wynn Jr.

Where counsel presented substantial mitigating evidence about the defendant’s neglectful and violent childhood and his significant brain damage, including the opinions of four experts about the effects of brain damage on his behavior, the defendant sentenced to death for rape ...

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

Where a neighbor reported a possible instance of breaking and entering in an apartment which had seemed vacant for months, and she was afraid because the two men had tried to open her door multiple times, the police had reasonable ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Michael F. Urbanski U.S. District Court - Western District

Where the police saw a man placing a firearm in the trunk of his car, that act alone did not provide a reasonable basis for the stop because possession of the firearm was not unlawful and there was nothing suspicious ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge James P. Jones U.S. District Court - Western District

Where police searched a vehicle occupied by appellant and found a handgun in a backpack pouch that was zipped shut, the handgun was secured within the meaning of the concealed weapon statute. As a result, appellant’s conviction for carrying a ...

Tagged with: Criminal Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Supreme Court of Virginia

The trial court was free to disbelieve appellant’s claim that he was an invited overnight guest at a home. Thus, he lacked standing to raise Fourth Amendment arguments to contest evidence that was in plain view along with other evidence ...

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

Where an expert examined appellant and concluded he did not meet the diagnostic criteria of a pedophile, the trial court incorrectly barred this testimony on the basis that it would be opinion testimony on an ultimate issue of the case ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Glen A. Huff Virginia Court of Appeals

Where a juror’s voir dire responses revealed a favorable bias toward the police, and she stated she was concerned about doing a “disservice” by serving on the jury, the trial court erred by denying appellant’s motion to strike the juror ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Bennett Malveaux Virginia Court of Appeals