Where defendant was indicted on four counts of raping a child less than 13 years old, and the commonwealth later amended the first two counts to aggravated sexual battery, the court rejects a plea agreement that allowed defendant to plea ...

Tagged with: Criminal Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Virginia Circuit Courts

Defense counsel provided effective assistance by not asserting an insanity defense. Petitioner is denied habeas corpus relief. “Under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 (1984), a petitioner must prove both that his counsel’s performance was deficient and that he ...

Tagged with: Habeas Corpus Judge Randy I. Bellows Virginia Circuit Courts

Even if a commonwealth’s attorney decides not to staff certain misdemeanor cases, the prosecutor’s office still has the obligation to make sure crime victims are provided notice of their criminal proceedings, a Fairfax County judge has ruled. The judge’s decision ...

Tagged with: Criminal Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows

Where the assault victim did not appear at defendant’s trial because he was not notified of the trial date, defendant’s motion to dismiss the case on this basis is denied. Background “The specific question before the Court is whether the ...

Tagged with: Criminal Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Virginia Circuit Courts

Respondent’s board of zoning appeals incorrectly denied petitioners a setback variance to replace a deck at their residential home with a screened porch. Background Petitioners own a home on a corner lot in Vienna, Virginia. The lot is wider than ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Real Estate Virginia Circuit Courts

Where plaintiffs and defendants were guarantors of a defaulted loan, and plaintiffs funded the settlement with the lending bank, defendants are liable to plaintiffs for $1.7 million on an unjust enrichment theory. Background The Coves, the Wallens and the Blacks ...

Tagged with: Business Law Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Virginia Circuit Courts

Where a police officer received a report at 2 a.m. that students were “fleeing” from a high school where they had been attending an all-night graduation party, sovereign immunity bars a negligence claim by a motorist who was injured when ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Negligence Virginia Circuit Courts

Devona Johnson, 45, collapsed at home. When she came to, she had a vision field cut and mental confusion. EMS brought her to a Primary Stroke Certified hospital where the stroke protocol was activated and she was evaluated by an ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Medical Malpractice Million-Dollar Verdicts

The defendant, a convicted sex offender on probation, could not use the Fifth Amendment as an excuse for lying to his probation officer about criminal conduct. Background On April 21, 2014, the defendant was indicted for feloniously using “a communications ...

Tagged with: Criminal Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Virginia Circuit Courts

A “husband” whose nine-year marriage was negated because the couple’s Washington wedding was at odds with their Virginia paperwork cannot save the union by labeling it a common law marriage under D.C. law. The Court of Appeals of Virginia ruled ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Judge Rosemarie Annunziata Virginia Court of Appeals