Police officers did not coerce a defendant’s confession when they arrested him immediately upon his discharge from the hospital and began their questioning shortly after he had taken pain medication. Background On Dec. 27, 2015, Andre Marquise Harris was admitted ...

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

Although a lower court affirmed the rejection of a lease transfer through oyster-planting ground to the City of Virginia Beach, the city can proceed with a dredging project because municipalities are among the corporate entities eligible to apply for such ...

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

A conviction for aggravated involuntary manslaughter was upheld, as it was based on the presence of multiple drugs in the defendant’s system and his admission, after initially denying that he had consumed alcohol or drugs, that he had received a ...

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

Although the wife was in an exclusive, continuous, monogamous relationship with another man following her separation from husband, because they maintained separate residences, the trial court did not err by holding that husband failed to prove the threshold “common residence” ...

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

Prior convictions involving the defendant’s exposing himself to the significantly younger minor child of a female acquaintance while using a vehicle to facilitate the offense was admissible as proof of his propensity to commit the crime charged. Background On July ...

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

The trial court ordered the appellant to pay restitution for loss directly caused by the offense. Because her conduct resulted in the loss of keys to two vehicles owned by the victim, she was responsible for reprogramming the electronic locks ...

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

A majority of the court reversed a sexual battery conviction, finding the defendant’s conduct in grabbing and twisting the victim’s breasts was insufficient to constitute sexual battery because he did not use “force” in the nonconsensual touching. Background In April ...

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

A defendant who, while eluding a police officer, caused an accident that fatally injured another driver, could not escape liability for murder in the commission of a felony by arguing that “gross medical negligence” was the reason for the victim’s ...

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

A husband presented no evidence or legal authority to prove his wife’s 1987 divorce in Peru was not final when he married her in 1988. The Virginia court did not err in granting the wife a divorce. Background Wife’s previous ...

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

The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board exceeded its authority by not deferring to the zoning board and granting a farm winery license to a property that lacked sufficient acreage for agricultural use. Background Brian Bates Farmer began planting grapes on his ...

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