The defendant’s Confrontation Clause challenge to the trial court’s evidentiary exclusions under Virginia’s rape-shield law were not raised in the proceedings below and, in any event, did not rise above the level of harmless error. Background Appellant Michael Maldini and ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Evidence Judge Randolph A. Beales Sixth Amendment Virginia Court of Appeals

A woman charged with theft after she refused to return an emaciated dog to its owner sufficiently stated several constitutional and state tort claims against an animal control officer and his supervisor. Background In December 2017, Plaintiff Christen Waddle encountered ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Jackson L. Kiser Personal Injury Tort U.S. District Court - Western District

Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller’s jurisdiction, as set forth in his Appointment Order and in a subsequent memorandum from the Acting Attorney General, encompasses prosecution of Donald Trump’s former campaign manager for bank fraud and tax charges that involve connections ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Race predominated over traditional districting factors in construction of 11 challenged Virginia House of Delegates districts. This use of race was not narrowly tailored to achieve the interest of complying with the Voting Rights Act. Thus, the district divisions are ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Constitutional Elections Equal Protection Judge Barbara Milano Keenan Judge Panel U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Waste and water management systems in Iraq and Afghanistan were operationally controlled by the military, not its contractor. Thus, mass tort claims for harms caused by the contractors’ alleged environmental mismanagement were barred by the political question doctrine. Background As ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Class Action Constitutional Judge Henry F. Floyd Personal Injury

Officers acting in part on a tip from a 911 caller who gave only his first name had a reasonable articulable suspicion that the defendant had committed a crime, based on corroborating facts the officers discovered at the scene. The ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Criminal Judge Diana Gribbon Motz Search & Seizure

The younger “D.C. sniper,” who was a teenager when he was convicted of several murders and related crimes, must be resentenced following retroactive constitutional standards for juvenile punishment, established subsequent to his sentencing. Background During about seven weeks in 2002, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Criminal Judge Paul V. Niemeyer Sentencing

A defendant who agrees to have the charges against him considered in two trials cannot later argue successfully that the second trial offends the Fifth Amendment. Background This case began when police dredged up a safe full of guns from ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Justice Neil M. Gorsuch U.S. Supreme Court

An indigent defendant facing two life sentences for rape and related offenses can argue ex parte why he requires expert assistance, but he must make his case to a circuit judge other than the one presiding over the case. Background ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Judge David B. Carson Roanoke Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts

A county ordinance prohibiting hindrance or obstruction of sheriff’s deputies performing their duties was not overbroad or vague, and it was thus a proper basis for the defendant’s conviction on grounds that he fled and hid from officers. Background Loudoun ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Judge Teresa M. Chafin Virginia Court of Appeals