Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute – a misdemeanor – is a lesser-included offense of the felony of distribution of more than half an ounce but less than 5 pounds of marijuana. A petitioner convicted of the misdemeanor was ...

Tagged with: Criminal Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Richard E. Gardiner Virginia Circuit Courts

The trial court erred in holding a father in contempt for failing to notify the mother of their child of the date of their son’s first communion. Background Father and Mother, who separated in 2008, are subject to a final ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Domestic Relations Family Law Judge Rosemarie Annunziata Virginia Court of Appeals

An inmate was entitled to partial injunctive relief related to his ongoing pain after another prisoner broke his jaw. Dental care to date has not ameliorated his pain or ability to chew food, and he is entitled to further evaluation. ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Jackson L. Kiser Prisons & Jails U.S. District Court - Western District

Genuine disputes of material fact precluded summary judgment as to whether an insurance company improperly denied coverage for property damage after vandals cut a water line in a hotel undergoing renovations. The insurer claimed that the hotel owners had misrepresented ...

Tagged with: Contract Insurance Judge Henry Coke Morgan Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A written agreement between a corporation and the government preserved the company’s attorney-client privilege and work-product protection for information that the general counsel of a subsidiary entity disclosed to the government. Background Several years ago, federal prosecutors opened a grand ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Business Law Contract Criminal Evidence Judge Roger L. Gregory

An immigrant was not rendered ineligible for cancellation of removal based solely on $100 in court costs that he paid after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor. Such costs, which are not discretionary and sometimes are imposed by the court clerk, ...

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

Six defendants tried together were properly convicted of murder and attempted murder offenses related to their gang membership. Their convictions were upheld despite challenges to prosecutorial conduct, jury instructions, evidence admitted at trial, joint trial, access to counsel, warrantless cell ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Criminal Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

Fired the day after asking for grievance paperwork, a black employee reasonably believed she was subject to a hostile work environment that was attributable to her employer. The district court erred in granting summary judgment against her. Background In August ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Rights Employment Employment Discrimination Judge Roger L. Gregory Municipal

Despite a support order entered in 2004, a husband didn’t owe arrearages dating to 2006. He’d stopped paying when the couple reconciled, resumed living together as husband and wife, and had two more children supported solely by the husband’s income. ...

Tagged with: Contract Domestic Relations Fairfax County Circuit Court Family Law Judge David Bernhard Virginia Circuit Courts

A Salvadoran immigrant, detained for the past 14 months while he challenges removal, deserves an individual bond hearing to determine whether flight risk or danger to society justifies his prolonged detention. Background Petitioner Jose Rodriguez Portillo first unlawfully entered the ...

Tagged with: Administrative Constitutional Criminal Due Process Immigration Judge Leonie Brinkema U.S. District Court - Eastern District