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Public welfare includes character of neighborhood
Where county supervisors denied appellant’s special exemption request to rent bedrooms in his house after determining the proposed use would harm the public welfare, the determination correctly included consideration of the neighborhood’s character. Background Appellant Harris bought a house on a two-acre parcel, improved it and sought to rent individual bedrooms. The zoning code allowed [&hel[...]
State police officer’s discharge upheld
Where a Virginia State Police officer was discharged for failing to follow policy and making false statement regarding an accident with his police vehicle, there were no flaws in the administrative proceedings leading to his discharge or in his subsequent appeal. Criminal matter Brennan backed his police car into another vehicle, damaging both. “Brennan and […]
Common-law abatement no longer good law
Where a statute repealing Code § 18.2-250.1 (possession of marijuana) was enacted before appellant’s conviction, the common-law rule of abatement does not void his conviction. Virginia’s saving statute, Code § 1-239, controls the result in this case. The conviction is affirmed. Under Code § 1-239, “when the General Assembly explicitly and unambiguously repeals a statute, […[...]
Motion to withdraw plea properly denied
Where appellant sought to withdraw his guilty plea when supplemental interrogatories revealed that two police officers involved in his case were fired, one after an internal affairs investigation and the other because of “issues involving veracity,” the trial court correctly denied the motion. Relevant law “The withdrawal of a guilty plea is governed by two […]
Major probation violation report correctly admitted
Reports documenting appellant’s absconding from probation and being convicted of crimes in another jurisdiction were properly admitted at appellant’s probation violation hearing. Appellant’s argument that he was denied his rights under the Confrontation Clause is not well-taken because the reports had sufficient indicia of reliability. The trial court properly revoked his previously suspende[...]
‘Safety valve’ provision rejected in drug-gun case
There was sufficient evidence for the trial court to conclude that firearms found in appellant’s home were connected to his illegal drug sales. The court correctly rejected his request to apply the statutory “safety valve” provision regarding firearms in connection with drug offenses, which would have precluded the trial court from imposing a mandatory 20-year […]
No retroactive application of sentencing limitation
Where the court revoked appellant probationer’s two-year previously suspended sentence, it was not limited to imposing a 14-day sentence for his technical violations. The statute imposing such limitation did not become effective until after his violations. Appellant’s due process argument fails because on appeal, he is taking a position inconsistent with his position in the […]
JDR court had jurisdiction to determine support award
The JDR court had jurisdiction to determine the amount of spousal support husband must pay wife. Further, the circuit court properly awarded wife attorneys’ fees and correctly awarded support for a term longer than half of the marriage. Overview The parties married in 2010. After three years of marriage, the parties separated. Two years later […]
Solicitation unrelated to autism spectrum disorder
Appellant’s convictions for three counts of electronic solicitation of a minor are affirmed. The solicitations were not “caused by, nor had a direct and substantial relationship to, his autism spectrum disorder and … any error by the circuit court in applying the requirements of Code § 19.2-303.6 was harmless.” Overview After being confronted with evidence […]
No double jeopardy in drug distribution trials
Where it is apparent that the prosecutor did not intend to cause a mistrial while questioning a prosecution witness, double jeopardy did not prevent appellant’s retrial on drug distribution charges. Background Appellant Patel was a pharmacist who owned HnR Pharmacy. Urbani, an HnR customer told the Stafford County sheriff that he could buy drugs at […]
No conflict of interest or ‘Miranda’ violation
Where appellant was convicted for first-degree murder, assaultive crimes and armed burglary, the convictions is not marred by defense counsel’s alleged conflict of interest. Further, appellants pre-Miranda statements were properly admitted under Miranda’s public safety exception. ‘Miranda’ incident Appellant Holman arranged a meeting with Christina Martin. He accomplished this by abducting[...]
Res judicata does not bar additional claims
Where some of the claimant’s injuries were compensated under a voluntary settlement agreement, res judicata does not bar additional claims brought after the parties entered into the agreement. Overview O’Neil, a sheriff’s deputy in Henrico County, was injured during a training exercise when a lieutenant punched her near the throat, which caused pain in the […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Plaintiff injured in crash with oncoming vehicle — $235,000 settlement
- Driver killed in rear-end collision with tractor-trailer — $1.5M settlement
- Man died from pancreatic cancer after delayed response — $1.8M settlement
- Worker fell off roof, rendering him a paraplegic — $1.25M settlement
- Driver sustained permanent hearing loss after traffic collision — $240,000 settlement
- Plaintiff suffered concussion in rear-end collision — $81,000 verdict
- Builder misrepresented home status to buyers — $675,000 verdict
- Low potassium led to cardiac arrest, death of patient — $1M settlement
- Excessive propofol caused death in dialysis patient — $850,000 settlement
- Pedestrian struck in crosswalk in hit-and-run incident — $300,000 settlement
- Navy veteran killed in collision with box truck — $1.85M arbitration award
- Motorcyclist ejected from bike in collision with SUV — $1.5M settlement
Opinion Digests
- Company owner dodges breach of contract suit
- Employee’s own allegations doom minimum wage claim
- Federal government defeats former employee’s claims
- Principal wasn’t entitled to exclusively remote work
- USPTO properly redacted info in responsive documents
- Untimely lawsuit allowed to proceed
- Engineering consultant dismissed from suit
- Rule 60 motion was filed too late
- Nonprofit directors immune from ex-employees’ claims
- City, employees immune from whistleblower claims
- Experts excluded in condemnation damages suit
- Judgment entered against company for horse’s death
