Where appellant was convicted after a bench trial of possessing a controlled substance, there was sufficient evidence that she was aware of the nature and character of the substance in of her “vape pen.” Overview Police officers Hance and Ernst ...

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

Where claimant’s employer required her to see a treating physician, who declared she was fit for work after suffering an employment-related injury, the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission correctly gave greater weight to a treating physician of her own choosing, who ...

Tagged with: Judge Mary Bennett Malveaux Virginia Court of Appeals Workers’ Comp

The commonwealth presented sufficient evidence from which the jury could conclude that appellant shot the victim and did so with premeditation. Appellant’s first-degree murder conviction is affirmed. Overview Timothy Croskey, the murder victim, lived with his mother, Tracey Croskey. The ...

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

Where appellant was convicted of grand larceny of a motor vehicle, the trial court’s restitution order must be reduced on remand. The car dealership did not itemize some of the claimed expenses to recover the vehicle. Overview On May 25, ...

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

Appellant’s conviction of possessing controlled paraphernalia is reversed. The trial court ruled that appellant’s the mere possession of an unused hypodermic syringe and needle was sufficient to convict Code § 54.1-3466. However, the statute is best understood as requiring both ...

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

Appellant was properly convicted of rape after he forced his wife to have sex despite her repeated attempts to push him away and requests to stop. His argument that because the victim was his wife, the commonwealth needed to prove ...

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

Where claimant slipped and was injured on vinyl-covered stairs at work, the covering was not a “hazard or danger peculiar to the workplace,” and thus claimant did not suffer an injury by accident. The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission correctly affirmed ...

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

The trial court properly denied a motion to suppress evidence obtained from a warrantless search of appellant’s cell phone. The court correctly determined he abandoned the device at a restaurant. His plea-based convictions of attempted malicious wounding and several firearm ...

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

Where appellant did not timely raise a constitution challenge to the statute under which he was convicted of child cruelty, we will not reach the merits of his claim. Background Robert Mollenhauer, 3-year-old S.M. and Robert’s three other children moved ...

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

The circuit court did not “terminate” father’s parental rights when it denied his motion to change custody, imposed conditions father needed to meet before visitation could resume and issued a protective order in favor of mother and the parties’ child. ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Mary Bennett Malveaux Virginia Court of Appeals