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

A capital murder defendant who sought forensic testing of certain evidence was entitled to present his argument to the court ex parte under Code § 9.1-1104. But the statute does not authorize ex parte status for the resulting order as ...

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

A vehicle owner served with a notice of violation, which cited a no-stop right turn on red with photo and video evidence, did not show that her constitutional rights were violated either by the city red-light-camera ordinance or its authorizing ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Due Process Equal Protection Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Municipal Traffic Virginia Circuit Courts