Virginia

Can employees like those who took part in Charlottesville rally be fired?

Do protesters who appear in photographs and are affiliated with white nationalist and similar groups have job protections in spite of the potential issues they may bring? The issue is complicated, employment lawyers told the National Law Journal. Various social media feeds, including the one from Twitter user YesYoureRacist, continue…

Aug 15, 2017 1:57 PM CDT

ABA President Klein decries violence at Charlottesville rally

The U.S. Constitution protects free speech, not violence against others, Linda Klein, president of the American Bar Association, said in a statement released Sunday, one day after a rally held by white nationalists and similar groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned violent and left a paralegal dead and more than 30 injured.

Aug 14, 2017 8:51 AM CDT

Ex-con and Yale Law grad must prove ‘good moral character’ before being able to practice

A former convict who has graduated from Yale Law School and is an acclaimed author and poet now must prove his “good moral character” to Connecticut officials before he can practice law, The Associated Press reports. Reginald Dwayne Betts, 36, passed the state bar exam in February but now must,…

Aug 9, 2017 9:51 AM CDT

Condemned to death—and solitary confinement

Arizona death row inmate Scott Nordstrom lives alone in a room smaller than a parking space. He’s allowed to leave his cell a few times each week to shower or exercise alone in a similarly-sized mesh cage and is forbidden from making physical contact with visitors from the outside. But…

Jul 27, 2017 10:27 AM CDT

Virginia executes inmate after governor rejects delusional diagnosis; ABA had raised concerns

The state of Virginia executed William Morva on Thursday night after the governor rejected clemency petition claims that the inmate suffered from a delusional disorder and was unable to understand the consequences of his actions. A corrections spokeswoman said the execution took place without any complications, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.…

Jul 7, 2017 10:18 AM CDT

Federal judge in Virginia refuses to block revised travel ban

A federal judge in Virginia on Friday refused to block President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban. The decision (PDF) by U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga of Alexandria is contrary to rulings by judges in Hawaii and Maryland, who both issued nationwide injunctions that blocked enforcement of at least some sections…

Mar 27, 2017 10:15 AM CDT

Virginia court’s no-jail policy for marijuana possession could have consequences for immigrants

When the Arlington General District Court in Virginia this month adopted a policy of no jail time for possession of small amounts of marijuana, it was a progressive step that streamlines the criminal justice system. But it also rubbed up against tough immigration laws enacted years ago: No threat of…

Mar 13, 2017 1:45 PM CDT

SCOTUS sends transgender school bathroom case back to 4th Circuit

An appeal regarding bathroom rights for a transgender high school student was vacated and remanded by the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday in light of the new presidential administration's position.

Mar 6, 2017 9:44 AM CST

ABA scores wins on attorney-client privilege and independence of the legal profession

The ABA achieved some significant victories during the past year by advocating for revisions to key federal regulations that will protect the independence of the legal profession and preserve the confidential lawyer-client relationship.

Mar 1, 2017 1:05 AM CST

DOJ lawyer says more than 100,000 visas have been revoked; State Department says number is 60,000

Updated: A Justice Department lawyer told a federal judge in Virginia on Friday that more than 100,000 visas have been revoked as a result of President Donald Trump’s order temporarily banning immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States. Lawyer Erez Reuveni of the department’s Office of Immigration…

Feb 3, 2017 12:25 PM CST

Man who was a teen when he pleaded guilty to 1977 rape gets hearing on actual innocence claim

The Virginia Supreme Court on Monday ordered an evidentiary hearing into an actual innocence claim by a man who pleaded guilty to a 1977 rape when he was 18 years old. The inmate, Roy Watford, says DNA evidence shows he did not rape the victim, a 12-year-old girl, the Richmond…

Jan 30, 2017 4:54 PM CST

Former lawyer is sentenced for role in home invasion attack on managing partner

Former Virginia lawyer Alecia Schmuhl was sentenced to 45 years in prison on Thursday for aiding a November 2014 home invasion and torture attack on the managing partner who fired her. Schmuhl received the maximum sentence under her plea deal for her role in the attack carried out by her…

Jan 20, 2017 10:26 AM CST

Man can sue for return of engagement ring, Virginia Supreme Court rules

A $26,000 engagement ring was a conditional gift and a man who broke off his engagement is entitled to its return, the Virginia Supreme Court has ruled. The court said in a Dec. 15 decision (PDF) that the lawsuit by Ethan Dockendorf was not barred by the state’s heart balm…

Dec 20, 2016 2:14 PM CST

4th Circuit upholds Virginia voter ID law, distinguishes contrary North Carolina ruling

A federal appeals court has upheld Virginia’s voter ID law in a challenge by the Democratic Party of Virginia and two minority voters. The Richmond, Virginia-based 4h U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law does not impose an undue burden on minority voting, and there was no evidence lawmakers…

Dec 14, 2016 11:52 AM CST

Jurors find Rolling Stone defamed UVa associate dean in later-retracted article about gang rape

Federal jurors in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Friday found Rolling Stone magazine was liable for defamation in a story about an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia, which was later retracted. Jurors ruled for former school administrator Nicole Eramo, who had alleged she was portrayed as the “chief villain”…

Nov 4, 2016 2:23 PM CDT