The Court of Appeals erred when it ruled that “certain indemnification provisions in a property settlement agreement that [wife] entered into with [husband] violated federal law and, therefore, were void ab initio.” Background The parties agreed on a division of ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Justice Cleo E. Powell Supreme Court of Virginia

The Supreme Court of Virginia has reinstated a circuit court’s decision to dismiss a motion to amend a military pension division order, or MPDO. The decision reverses a decision from the Court of Appeals of Virginia, which held that federal ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Justice Cleo E. Powell Supreme Court of Virginia

A Supreme Court of Virginia majority has refused to expunge a felony charge of driving while intoxicated even though the government conceded that the man didn’t have the requisite prior felony and should only have been charged with a misdemeanor. ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Justice Cleo E. Powell Justice Thomas P. Mann Supreme Court of Virginia

Even though appellant’s record inaccurately reflected that he had been convicted of felony DWI, the prosecutor’s subsequent amendment of the arrest warrant to misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, second offense within 10 years, was not a dismissal of the felony charge. ...

Tagged with: Criminal Justice Cleo E. Powell Supreme Court of Virginia

A man’s conviction for carrying a concealed weapon while intoxicated has been reversed after the Supreme Court of Virginia found that the handgun in question, located in a zippered backpack on a car seat, was not “carried” under Virginia statute. ...

Tagged with: Criminal Justice Cleo E. Powell Supreme Court of Virginia

Where appellant was convicted of carrying a concealed handgun while intoxicated, the conviction is reversed. The holstered handgun was in a zippered bag on the passenger seat of the vehicle he was driving. Under the relevant statute, to convict, the ...

Tagged with: Criminal Justice Cleo E. Powell Supreme Court of Virginia

Where the trial court ruled that appellee was entitled to specific performance, requiring appellant real estate owners to convey 31 acres of property that was offered at auction, this was error because the auction is best understood as being an ...

Tagged with: Justice Cleo E. Powell Real Estate Supreme Court of Virginia

Where appellant was molested by an employee of a community mental health services board, the circuit court incorrectly granted the board’s plea in bar after concluding that the board was entitled to sovereign immunity from appellant’s simple negligence claim. The ...

Tagged with: Civil Practice Justice Cleo E. Powell Supreme Court of Virginia

Where appellant failed to pay his court costs, the Court of Appeals correctly affirmed the circuit court’s revocation of his deferred disposition and his conviction for possessing heroin. Background After his arrest for possessing heroin, Smallwood made a plea agreement ...

Tagged with: Criminal Justice Cleo E. Powell Supreme Court of Virginia

Paramedics who failed to thoroughly read a man’s advance directive have immunity from the wrongful death suit filed by his sister, the Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled, upholding a decision from Smyth County. The trial court found the paramedics ...

Tagged with: Justice Cleo E. Powell Negligence Supreme Court of Virginia Wrongful Death