Where appellant’s probation officer was no longer employed by the probation office when the court held appellant’s probation violation hearing, his confrontation rights were not violated when a substitute probation officer appeared and testified instead. Overview Appellant was on supervised ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals

The court denies a petition for a writ of actual innocence because it was based on evidence available to petitioner before his conviction became final in the circuit court. Background On July 27, 2010, petitioner Johnson pleaded guilty to bank ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Bennett Malveaux Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Judge Robert P. Frank Virginia Court of Appeals

Where appellant embezzled cash by taking it over a 25-day period from registers at the department store where he worked, there was sufficient evidence to show appellant formed a separate intent or impulse each time he took money. Separate impulses ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals

Where appellant forced the victim’s car to stop and then blocked her car with his to prevent her from driving out of a ditch, this was sufficient evidence to sustain a carjacking conviction. Further, when appellant hit the driver-side window ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals

The trial court correctly included a nanny’s full salary as a child-care cost when calculating child support guidelines. Wife’s requested child-care costs were employment-related and reasonable. Overview The parties married in 2000 and separated in 2018. They have three minor ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals

Even though appellant was serving a mandatory minimum sentence for a drug crime, the trial court had the authority to consider whether appellant’s cooperation in an unrelated murder case warranted a reduced sentence. Background Appellant pleaded guilty to possession with ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals of Virginia has agreed with defense counsel that a sentence reduction is possible for a defendant’s assistance to law enforcement despite the mandatory minimum imposed for the underlying crime. The appeals court reversed a Norfolk circuit ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals

Where the ex-wife was receiving spousal support while habitually cohabitating with another person “in a relationship analogous to a marriage for one year or more,” Code § 20-109, the trial court erred by reducing the support award instead of terminating ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals

Appellant’s parental abduction conviction is affirmed because he violated a court order when he removed the child from the commonwealth. Background Appellant and his former wife, Rose, divorced in 2012. A Pennsylvania court gave Rose primary custody of the parties’ ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals

The Workers’ Compensation Commission correctly determined that it lacked jurisdiction to hear a claim by a medical provider against a shipyard and its insurer for payment of services rendered to the shipyard’s employee. Background The employee suffered a compensable injury ...

Tagged with: Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals Workers’ Comp