A mother’s conviction for felony child neglect was supported by evidence that she was driving with a blood alcohol concentration that was triple the legal limit, with her children in the car. Background On December 25, 2014, Officer A. Lasco ...

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

Evidence didn’t support the circuit court’s ruling that a mother failed to remedy past conditions of child abuse. The record also didn’t support affirmance on the alternate ground of inadequate parenting skills advance by the Department of Social Services. Background ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Family Law Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Parental Rights Virginia Court of Appeals

When a citizen conversing voluntarily with police gave them the unlabeled pill bottle in his pocket, he consented to inspection of both the outside and inside. The trial court erred in suppressing the contents. Background At around 10:30 p.m. on ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Search & Seizure Virginia Court of Appeals

A divorcing father’s unilateral decision to use a marital investment account to pay for his adult son’s master’s program was properly considered waste of the marital assets, the Court of Appeals of Virginia has ruled. A Fairfax County circuit judge ...

Tagged with: Judge Bruce D. White Judge Glen A. Huff Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals News

In a divorce action, the court affirmed an equitable distribution that offset the husband’s share by the amount he independently spent on college tuition for the divorcing couple’s adult son. The husband was unable to overcome the marital presumption attaching ...

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

The court of appeals held that the trial court, considering a motion to suppress, did not err in admitting an officer’s testimony that, before he attempted to arrest the defendant, another officer had said that the defendant was subject to ...

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 Unpublished Opinion Virginia Court of Appeals

The court of appeals affirmed that the Indian Child Welfare Act’s protections were not triggered by Appellant Jocelyn Lee Geouge’s assertion that her child might be of Cherokee descent. In this case, Geouge challenged the adoption of her biological daughter, ...

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

Cartagena v. Commonwealth (VLW No. 017-7-282, 12 pp.) (Russell, J.) Appealed from Virginia Beach Circuit Court (Padrick, J) Va. App. Pub. Holding:  Defendant was convicted of falsifying a firearm consent form, attempted possession of a firearm by a felon, and ...

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

A divided panel of the Court of Ap­peals of Virginia has reversed the felony child neglect conviction of a Pulaski County mother whose 5-year-old son died in a septic tank accident. The 2-1 ruling holds that prosecutors failed to show ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Judge William G. Petty Virginia Court of Appeals

A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals, granted a petition for appeal for a defendant charged with robbery, attempted carjacking, and conspiracy to commit carjacking, it found that the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion to strike all ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Marla Graff Decker Judge Robert J. Humphreys Judge Wesley G. Russell Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals