Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Judge James W. Haley Jr.

Oct 17, 2016

Agency Not Liable for $18K Sanction

The Court of Appeals reverses an $18,000 sanction against the Virginia De­partment of Corrections levied when DOC was held in contempt for violating circuit court orders requiring the agency to place a demoted employee in a comparable posi­tion, such as superintendent or assistant warden. Employee grievance The court’s order holding VDOC in con­tempt provided that […]

Oct 11, 2016

Excluding ‘Amnesia’ Evidence Was Harmless

Any error by the trial court in excluding testimony from defendant’s psychiatrist that he had diagnosed defendant with dissocia­tive amnesia was harmless, and the Court of Appeal affirms defendant’s conviction of first-degree murder of his girlfriend, who was stabbed 35 times in a dispute over the remote control. Defendant testified that he did not intend […]

Apr 11, 2016

Doctor Warnings Did Not Preclude Award

Although claimant, a field superinten­dent for a signal company, had had prob­lems with his left knee going back 30 years and had been warned about walk­ing on uneven terrain, his injury from stepping into “quicksand”-like soil on a job site was not the result of failing to follow medical advice, and the Court of Appeals […]

Apr 11, 2016

Spousal Support Reversed for Adulterous Wife

Although husband earned $850,000 annually and wife had not worked outside the home for more than a few months since 1990, denying spousal sup­port to wife, who admitted to adultery with multiple partners, would not be a “manifest injustice” under Va. Code § 20- 207.1(B); the Court of Appeals reverses an award of spousal support. […]

Apr 8, 2016

Support based on ‘injustice’ reversed

The Virginia Court of Appeals has reversed, apparently for the first time, a spousal support award that was based on the “manifest injustice” exception in the Virginia Code. Virginia Code §20- 17.1(B) permits a trial judge to award spousal support where a denial would be a “manifest injus­tice,” based on the de­grees of fault and […]

Mar 9, 2016

Sleeping Rape Victim Was ‘Physically Helpless’

The “physical helplessness” contemplated by Va. Code § 18.2-61(A) means unconsciousness or any other condition existing at the time of an offense under this article which otherwise rendered the complaining witness physically unable to say no; sleep can constitute the requisite “physical helplessness,” and the Court of Appeals affirms defendant’s conviction of rape of a […]

Mar 9, 2016

Order to Pay Wife’s Fees Upheld

The Court of Appeals affirms an order requiring husband to pay wife $18,283.76 in attorney’s fees and costs, and remands to the trial court for an award to wife of attorney’s fees on appeal. The circuit court clearly had subject matter jurisdiction to enter and enforce the final divorce decree and to enter an Aug. […]

Jan 18, 2016

ABC Store Video Supported Theft Conviction

A defendant who was observed by a store clerk making several trips into an ABC store, and who was videotaped in the store’s section of small bottles of alcohol, and later discovered passed out outside the store with small bottles of certain brands of the same type missing from the store’s inventory, was properly convicted […]

May 5, 2015

Surgical Scar Counts for ‘Aggravated’ Shooting

A defendant who shot the victim in the abdomen resulting in a surgical scar can be convicted of aggravated malicious wounding; the Court of Appeals affirms his conviction under Va. Code § 18.2-51.2. Defendant argues the trial court erred in denying this motion to strike the aggravated portion of the charge of aggravated malicious wounding […]

Jan 9, 2015

Award Reversed for Pendente Lite Arrearage

A circuit court could not award child support arrearage under a pendente lite award retroactive to the period after the 2007 dismissal of wife’s 2002 divorce action under Va. Code § 8.01-335(B); the Court of Appeals reverses the support award and remands for a redetermination of arrearage and interest that may have accrued before the […]

Nov 24, 2014

Gun Receipt Admission Was ‘Harmless Error’

The Court of Appeals upholds defendant’s conviction of first-degree murder; even if a receipt for a .9 millimeter FC Luger caliber gun found in defendant’s car was inadmissible hearsay, the error was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence implicating defendant in the murder. Contested evidence linked defendant to a cartridge casing found in the […]

Jun 4, 2014

Gun & Drug Possession Were ‘Simultaneous’

A defendant who admitted involvement in an exchange of gunfire outside his home, in which he was injured, can be convicted of using a firearm while in possession of more than 25 pounds of marijuana found in the trunk of a nearby car and in his bedroom, the Court of Appeals holds. The Court of […]

Verdicts & Settlements

See All Verdicts & Settlements

Opinion Digests

See All Digests