By repeatedly violating a no-contact order to guilt his partner into refusing to testify against him, a domestic-abuse defendant forfeited his Sixth Amendment right to exclude her testimonial hearsay statements to law enforcement. Background Appellant Kevin Cody and Rebekka Weingarten ...

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

A circuit court did not err in denying a joint motion to vacate a defendant’s conviction. The Commonwealth had sought several vacaturs after discovering that a Richmond detective misrepresented facts in support of the search warrants he sought. Background In ...

Tagged with: Criminal Per Curiam Opinion Virginia Court of Appeals

Lured by the prospect of protecting his real estate from creditors, an elderly property owner’s sale of his land to a “holding entity” – which he was (wrongly) told would hold the property in trust – was not voidable on ...

Tagged with: Contract Per Curiam Opinion Real Estate Virginia Court of Appeals Wills & Trusts

The Commonwealth’s evidence was sufficient to prove that the defendant “possessed” files containing images of child pornography, even if the images were “orphan” remnants of deletion from the computer’s file directory. Background In 2015, Detective Mark Belew was investigating computer ...

Tagged with: Criminal Evidence Judge Mary B. Malveaux Virginia Court of Appeals

In the defendant’s trial for trying to cash a fraudulent check, the trial did not err in admitting evidence that allowed the jury to discover that the defendant’s attempt to cash the check occurred in a short period where he ...

Tagged with: Banks & Banking Criminal Evidence Judge Teresa M. Chafin Virginia Court of Appeals

The Commonwealth offered sufficient evidence to prove that the defendant broke into the victim’s house, offering testimony that the defendant recruited an accomplice to inveigle her way into the house and unlock the door. Background In the afternoon of August ...

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

The circuit court did not err in denying a mother’s request to continue a hearing to terminate her residual parental rights. She claimed she was unable to get the time off work, though her counsel appeared at the hearing without ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Family Law Per Curiam Opinion Virginia Court of Appeals

The Commission erred in concluding that an EMT, who had previously felt light-headed but never fainted when seeing large needle injections, showed that his loss of consciousness was caused by observing a spinal injection. Background On July 1, 2016, Appellee ...

Tagged with: Administrative Judge Teresa M. Chafin Virginia Court of Appeals Workers' Compensation

Although a retirement account partially containing marital property had a balance of zero by the time of the equitable distribution hearing, the circuit court properly applied the relevant statute in considering the account balance at the time the parties separated. ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Family Law Per Curiam Opinion Virginia Court of Appeals

Denying an incarcerated father’s request for transportation to his child’s adoption hearing, without offering him an alternative means to participate, was an abuse of the trial court’s discretion. Background On June 20, 2016, Appellee Shawn B. Foster, joined by his ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Domestic Relations Due Process Family Law Judge Teresa M. Chafin Parental Rights Prisons & Jails Virginia Court of Appeals