Was it a grand gesture on a moonlit night? That first flush of new parenthood? We don’t really get the details in Miller v. Miller, decided yesterday by the Virginia Court of Appeals. But we do know now that just ...

Tagged with: Virginia Court of Appeals

The judicial nominations committee of the Virginia State Bar has found five candidates highly qualified to fill the vacancy created by the retirement Court of Appeals Judge James W. Benton Jr. They are: ? Chesterfield County Circuit Judge Michael C. ...

Tagged with: Virginia Court of Appeals

Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey L. Bryant III has personal and institutional reasons to be pleased with Tuesday’s ruling by the Virginia Court of Appeals that judges can defer findings of guilt only with the express approval of the General ...

Tagged with: Virginia Court of Appeals

Judge James W. Benton Jr., the last of the original members of the Virginia Court of Appeals, will retire Oct. 1. Benton (photo at right) turns 64 in September. He is also the state’s senior appellate judge. A native of ...

Tagged with: Virginia Court of Appeals

Elder law is a growing field of practice, and we all know why. What lawyers don’t always know is how to balance the different hats they may have to wear when serving elderly or incapacitated clients. A new Fairfax case ...

Tagged with: Virginia Court of Appeals Wills & Trusts

A defendant who submits to a DNA mouth swab in one case can’t prevent prosecutors from using it to solve a cold case, according to a new decision from the Virginia Court of Appeals. In Pharr v. Commonwealth (VLW 007-7-239), ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Virginia Court of Appeals

Virginia Solicitor General William E. Thro unsuccessfully asserted the sovereignty of the commonwealth in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the appeal of a lesbian mother who is attempting to sever the parental rights of her former partner. In ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations U.S. Supreme Court Virginia Court of Appeals

A papa tried a gender reversal on that truism when he asked a divorce judge to switch custody from the mother to the dad, who wanted to relocate to Florida. The divorce judge said evidence showed the father’s response to ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Virginia Court of Appeals

To an experienced narcotics detective, a dollar bill folded in a certain way can only mean drugs. A defense lawyer tries to get the fact-finder to see other possibilities. In Snell v. Commonwealth, police found a folded-up dollar bill in ...

Tagged with: Criminal Search & Seizure Virginia Court of Appeals

A dad in Fairfax asked a judge to give him more visitation time with his sons. The reason? He wanted to maximize his participation in the social, recreational and sports groups of his sons, ages 9 and 11. The boys ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Virginia Court of Appeals