Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

Since federal sentencing guidelines became “advisory,” defense lawyers may be trying to track even unpublished 4th Circuit cases, just to see how a particular federal judge applies the guidelines to a given defendant. The defendant in U.S. v. Trent will ...

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

Defense attorney Jonathan K. Katz testified that he didn’t mean to ignore a trial judge’s admonition against calling witnesses “liars.” He was just so tired and stressed at the end of a 3 1/2-hour closing argument after eight days of ...

Tagged with: Criminal Law Firms

Whether therapist testimony can come into a domestic relations court case – an issue that has pitted lawyers against therapists – appears to be settled enough to allow the Virginia Court of Appeals to shuttle decisions on the subject into ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

A Norfolk bar owner tried to justify his sans-permit construction of a second-story bar on the Ocean View Fishing Pier by calling it his “office.” After the pier was destroyed by Hurricane Isabel in 2003, the owner promptly began reconstruction. ...

Maybe the 4th Circuit panel thought the appellate court already had given enough guidance on how district judges should sentence criminal defendants in light of U.S. v. Booker.Or maybe it decided that it’s not a good time to be disparaging ...

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

Gov. Tim Kaine wants the bill allowing judges to waive the fee caps on court-appointed pay to apply in all of Virginia’s trial-level courts. Compensation for court-appointed lawyers in Virginia ranks dead last in the nation. House Bill 2361, passed ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees General Assembly General District Court Gov. Tim Kaine

A papa tried a gender reversal on that truism when he asked a divorce judge to switch custody from the mother to the dad, who wanted to relocate to Florida. The divorce judge said evidence showed the father’s response to ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Virginia Court of Appeals

The final chapter in the 25-year saga that began with the rape and murder of a Culpeper woman may be written soon. The Richmond Times Dispatch reports that the state has agreed to pay $1.9 million to Earl Washington Jr., ...

Tagged with: Criminal Million-Dollar Verdicts

To an experienced narcotics detective, a dollar bill folded in a certain way can only mean drugs. A defense lawyer tries to get the fact-finder to see other possibilities. In Snell v. Commonwealth, police found a folded-up dollar bill in ...

Tagged with: Criminal Search & Seizure Virginia Court of Appeals

A dad in Fairfax asked a judge to give him more visitation time with his sons. The reason? He wanted to maximize his participation in the social, recreational and sports groups of his sons, ages 9 and 11. The boys ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Virginia Court of Appeals