A crime victim who assisted the commonwealth in the criminal prosecution against his assailant will himself be retried for making threats against the assistant commonwealth’s attorney and a police detective. The question is whether his purpose in making the threat ...

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

A driver who maintained that he believed he only hit a deer, but who actually hit and killed a person, had his conviction of felony hit and run affirmed. Background At 7:00 a.m. on Aug. 4, 2016, Trooper Dustin Eggleston ...

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

A defendant who repeatedly clashed with his attorneys was not entitled to a continuance during sentencing in order to allow him to obtain the services of another attorney, which would have been his fifth attorney during the case. Background Trent ...

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

Delegates and senators questioned four prospects for a September vacancy on the Supreme Court of Virginia this month, and other candidates could emerge as the General Assembly session continues. Two of the candidates interviewed Feb. 6 professed to being “strict ...

Tagged with: General Assembly Judge Clifford L. Athey Jr. Judge Randolph A. Beales Judge Teresa M. Chafin Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Judicial Interviews Supreme Court of Virginia News

Where a private prison investigator failed to give Miranda warnings to a prisoner before questioning him about possession of contraband, and the trial judge granted a motion to suppress, that judgment is affirmed. Background Brandon Briggs was incarcerated at the ...

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

A man who encouraged a woman to have carnal knowledge with a dog while performing oral sex on him argued a Virginia statute violated his due process rights, but the court upheld his conviction, finding no fundamental right to engage ...

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

The defendant argued his prior conviction under Virginia Code § 18.2-57.2, for  misdemeanor assault and battery against a family member, was not a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence,” as used on the ATF form. The court disagreed, holding that any ...

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

A man convicted of rape claimed the court erred by allowing a nurse to be a witness at his trial because she lacked certification to be a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. But the court found no error as the nurse’s ...

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

Grandparents’ objections to an order terminating a father’s parental rights and an adoption order came too late, and their motion for permission to review the adoption file was properly denied by the court for confidentiality reasons. Background The Middlesex Department ...

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

Although a man yelled at a woman and banged on her car window after he swerved his vehicle into hers, there was sufficient context to conclude he was not providing his name, address, license number and vehicle registration “forthwith” to ...

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