Evidence was sufficient to prove that the defendant conspired with his co-defendant to collect a debt through intimidation, including with a firearm. Background Appellant Jahsaad Livingston was tried jointly with his co-defendant, Therin Mason Miller-Jones. For several months in 2015, ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Robert P. Frank Virginia Court of Appeals

A special education teacher who ended up in a brief physical altercation with a chronically disrespectful student was acting defensively only, which did not support a finding of child abuse or neglect. Background This case concerns an altercation between Appellee ...

Tagged with: Education Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

A continuance ordered due to the hospitalization of defense counsel tolled the speedy trial deadline, because the reason for the delay was unanticipated and beyond the control of the Commonwealth. Background Appellee Calvin Craighead was indicted for two counts of ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Robert J. Humphreys Virginia Court of Appeals

A defendant convicted of attempted murder and other offenses failed to show that he was denied a speedy trial. Because the parties offered conflicting hearing transcripts and no audio, the court could not resolve what defense counsel agreed to, and ...

Tagged with: Criminal En Banc Virginia Court of Appeals

Even though a wife admitted that she committed pre-separation adultery, she is entitled to spousal support, the Virginia Court of Appeals has ruled. The relative economic circumstances and respective degrees of fault would make it a “manifest injustice” to deny ...

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

A defendant convicted of attempted murder and other offenses failed to show that he was denied a speedy trial, the Virginia Court of Appeals held en banc. Because the parties offered conflicting hearing transcripts and no audio, the court could ...

Tagged with: Criminal Evidence Virginia Court of Appeals

The Workers’ Compensation Commission did not err in declining to infer that a claimant fell due to the condition of the floor where she slipped at work, rather than due to her pre-existing knee condition. Background In 2016, Appellant Sabrina ...

Tagged with: Employment Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals Workers' Compensation

A trial court did not err in convicting the defendant for driving on a suspended license on “a highway of the Commonwealth.” The underlying offense took place on a gravel roadway leading to a national forest campsite. Background Officer Ron ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. Virginia Court of Appeals

In convictions on two possession counts, the Commonwealth was not required to prove that the defendant knowingly and intentionally possessed two different controlled substances, heroin and fentanyl, when both substances were contained within a single capsule that appeared visually uniform. ...

Tagged with: Criminal Evidence Judge Randolph A. Beales Virginia Court of Appeals

The trial court erred in granting the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence. His resistance to the efforts to handcuff him provided probable cause to arrest for obstruction of justice, thereby legitimizing the search of his person and the bundle he ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Judge Marla Graff Decker Search & Seizure Virginia Court of Appeals