The commonwealth charged defendant with falsely making or embossing a fraudulent credit card. At trial, however, it demonstrated only the defendant tried to use a fraudulent card. The conviction was reversed because the commonwealth failed to prove the crime charged ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Richard Y. AtLee Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

After sniffing around doors and windows, officers concluded the strong odor of marijuana was coming from the defendant’s trailer. Though they obtained a warrant, the police had unlawfully entered the defendant’s property, leading to the overturning of his conviction. However, ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Richard Y. AtLee Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

A husband challenging the designation as wholly marital property a home that was retitled during the marriage failed to present evidence relating to value, equity and cost of repairs in order to determine the precise amount he separately contributed. Given ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Richard Y. AtLee Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

The record shows the trial court based its upward departure in sentencing a Maryland man who pleaded guilty to possession of heroin on the “heroin epidemic” and not on the defendant’s race or other impermissible considerations. The trial court, therefore, ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Richard Y. AtLee Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

Where a circuit judge conducted a de novo review of a health commissioner’s denial of a medical imaging facility’s bid to add CT services in Arlington County, the court committed error. Background Arlington Medical Imaging sought to add computed tomography ...

Tagged with: Administrative Judge Richard Y. AtLee Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

Where the parties’ agreements did not designate how closing costs from the sale of marital assets should be treated, the court did not err in allocating closing costs. Background Prior to marriage, the parties entered into a premarital agreement. Among ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Richard Y. AtLee Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

Because there must be a request for relief pending at the time of the award, the circuit court erred in awarding spousal support to a wife because it granted a motion to strike her request before making the award. Background ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Richard Y. AtLee Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

Because there must be a request for relief pending at the time of the award, the circuit court erred in awarding spousal support to a wife because it granted a motion to strike her request before making the award. Background ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Richard Y. AtLee Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

The City of Virginia Beach, which intended to perform dredging in the Lynnhaven River as a matter of public interest, could not do so in an area where a citizen had obtained a riparian lease for oysters. The City claimed ...

Tagged with: Administrative Judge Richard Y. AtLee Jr. Municipal Real Property Virginia Court of Appeals

At a defendant’s probation revocation hearing, the circuit court properly admitted information about the defendant’s most recent convictions as reported in a news article read by the prosecutor. The article was written to inform the public, not in anticipation of ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Evidence Judge Richard Y. AtLee Jr. Sentencing Virginia Court of Appeals