Where the police made a valid vehicle stop, appellant-passenger lacked standing to challenge the vehicle search. The court properly denied his motion to suppress evidence found in the vehicle. Further, because appellant was lawfully detained during the stop, the court ...

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

Appellee father was correctly awarded primary physical custody of the parties’ child based on, among other things, his ability to provide the child with a “stable living situation.” Further, the parties’ premarital agreement precludes an attorney’s fee award to appellant ...

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

The circuit court did not abuse its discretion by awarding the parties joint legal custody of their minor child even though even though a protective order forbids contact between the parties. Further, the joint legal custody order was in the ...

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

Where appellant was convicted of sodomizing a child under 13 years old, a detective’s comment to appellant before a polygraph examination that if he had penetrated the child with his tongue, he “needed to get up and walk out of ...

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

Even though a father had a protective order in place against the mother, a circuit judge still was within his discretion to order joint legal custody of the divorced couple’s child, the Court of Appeals has ruled in a case ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Bruce D. Albertson Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Rockingham County Circuit Court Virginia Court of Appeals News

Where the defendant acquiesced in the delay of his trial by failing to object to continuances, that delay was chargeable to the defendant so that his subsequent trial date did not violate the Speedy Trial Act. Background Amir Fareed Suluki ...

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

Although the defendant’s conduct, which included his movement as the police officer approached, his proximity to the drugs found underneath his seat and his nervous demeanor, might have been suspicious, they were insufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that ...

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

A defendant was properly convicted of child pornography based on a video of him masturbating on a clothed, sleeping child because nudity of the child is not required, and the video was sexually explicit. The defendant was also properly convicted ...

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

Virginia judges have the authority under a fee-shifting statute to award attorneys’ fees even in cases where the prevailing party is represented by a legal aid lawyer, the Court of Appeals of Virginia has ruled. “It’s a very big case ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Judge Glen A. Huff Judge James W. Haley Jr. Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals News

Although the commission had previously concluded the employee’s right-knee injury was attributable to a compensable injury, the commission could still consider the employee’s pre-existing condition in evaluating the degree of impairment. Background On March 2, 2009, claimant injured her left ...

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