In prosecuting a security worker who used a Taser to commit sexual battery, the Commonwealth did not need to prove it was a “deadly” weapon, only that it was a “dangerous” one. Evidence of the victim’s injuries satisfied that burden. ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Bennett Malveaux Virginia Court of Appeals

The Workers’ Compensation Commission did not err in finding that the composition of the review panel was proper and that the claimant adequately marketed her residual work capacity. Background Claimant Kathleen Tefft was an assistant freight manager at one of ...

Tagged with: Administrative Employment Employment Law Judge Mary Bennett Malveaux Virginia Court of Appeals Workers' Compensation

Although no one saw actual spittle, testimony from three witnesses who saw and heard the defendant spit at two law enforcement officers was sufficient to support her convictions for assaulting the officers by spitting at them. Background King William County ...

Tagged with: Criminal Evidence Judge Mary Bennett Malveaux Virginia Court of Appeals

Despite a pretrial order barring testimony regarding the defendants’ prior robberies, a witness’s brief reference to a “previous” robbery did not explicitly link this robbery to either defendant. The trial court did not err in giving a curative instruction rather ...

Tagged with: Criminal Evidence Judge Mary Bennett Malveaux Virginia Court of Appeals

The Commonwealth’s evidence was sufficient to prove that the defendant “possessed” files containing images of child pornography, even if the images were “orphan” remnants of deletion from the computer’s file directory. Background In 2015, Detective Mark Belew was investigating computer ...

Tagged with: Criminal Evidence Judge Mary Bennett Malveaux Virginia Court of Appeals

For criminal liability under Code § 18.2-370, exposure of genital parts to a child need not be in the child’s physical presence if the exhibition is “liable to be seen” by the child. Background Appellant Major Hillman was a church youth pastor. ...

Tagged with: Criminal Evidence Judge Mary Bennett Malveaux Virginia Court of Appeals

Statutory minimum sentencing could not be waived based on the defendant’s non-use of a firearm when evidence established his “constructive possession” of an AK-47 during the offense dates in question. Background Throughout the month of October 2015, a confidential informant ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Bennett Malveaux Virginia Court of Appeals

The Commonwealth sufficiently established that a defendant aided and abetted her camping companion in manufacturing methamphetamine. Background On October 1, 2015, sheriff’s deputies went to a given address to serve an arrest warrant on Timothy Comer. Comer wasn’t there when ...

Tagged with: Criminal Evidence Judge Mary Bennett Malveaux Virginia Court of Appeals

Evidence was sufficient to support the defendant’s convictions and sentencing for welfare fraud, after she omitted income from her SNAP and fuel assistance applications. Background During 2015 and 2016, Appellant Latoya Jefferson shared a household with her five children and ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Bennett Malveaux Virginia Court of Appeals

Due to evidence demonstrating a woman’s mental incapacity to appreciate the nature and consequences of intercourse, an intimate encounter between her and another patient at a psychiatric facility amounted to attempted rape. Background On March 15, 2015, Appellant James L. ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Bennett Malveaux Virginia Court of Appeals