Where appellant absconded after the trial court denied his requests to continue his 2001 trial, the court properly tried and convicted him in his absence of distributing cocaine. Background In 1996, appellant Gaye was charged with distributing cocaine. His preliminary ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

Where appellant sought to withdraw his guilty plea to several sex crimes, claiming that he misunderstood his requirement to register as a sex offender, there was no error when defense counsel testified at the hearing about appellant’s misunderstanding that registration ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

The trial court should have suppressed drug evidence found in an apartment after police officers entered without a warrant. There were no exigent circumstances to support the warrantless entry. Background Police officers responded to an anonymous tip that a man ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

Where appellant was indicted on June 5, 2017, for murdering her husband, there was no speedy trial violation when trial commenced on Jan. 8, 2020. Appellant’s requests for continuances and her waivers tolled the speedy trial period, as did the ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

The Workers’ Compensation Appellate Commission correctly interpreted its rules to require reasonable notice when requesting attorney’s fees from a health care provider. As determined in Marks v. Henrico Doctors’ Hospital/HCA, ___ Va. App. ___ (June 29, 2021), although the relevant ...

Tagged with: Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals Workers' Compensation

Where more than 21 days had passed after the circuit court entered a conviction and sentencing order in appellant’s assault and battery case, the court lacked jurisdiction to enter an order denying appellant’s motion for reconsideration. As a result, appellant ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

Where a police officer stopped a vehicle after running its license tags, learning that there was a warrant for the vehicle’s owner and observing that the driver matched the owner’s general description, the officer had a reasonable, articulable suspicion to ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

The trial court was free to disbelieve appellant’s claim that he was an invited overnight guest at a home. Thus, he lacked standing to raise Fourth Amendment arguments to contest evidence that was in plain view along with other evidence ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

Where the trial court considered the parties’ incomes when apportioning the marital debt, this was a proper consideration under the “catch all” provision of Code § 20-107.3(E). Further, there was no error in the trial court’s methodology for determining wife’s ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

The trial court correctly determined that appellant was not entitled to a voluntary manslaughter jury instruction at his first-degree murder trial. The instruction was not supported by appellant’s assertions that he did not fire at a vehicle driving away from ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals