Virginia

Lawyer on trial for home-invasion attack can’t use medication-delirium defense, judge rules

A judge in Fairfax County, Virginia, has ruled that lawyers for Andrew Schmuhl can’t use an involuntary intoxication defense in his trial for a stabbing attack on a law firm managing partner and his wife during a November 2014 home invasion. Judge Randy Bellows ruled on Friday, the Washington Post…

Jun 1, 2016 9:26 AM CDT

‘Guccifer’ takes plea in hacking case; feds said he accessed personal accounts of political figures

A Romanian known as “Guccifer” took a plea deal Wednesday in a federal hacking case over his alleged unauthorized intrusions into some 100 accounts, including those of members of the Bush family and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Marcel Lehel Lazar, 44, pleaded guilty in federal court in Alexandria,…

May 26, 2016 11:30 AM CDT

GOP lawmakers outside challenged congressional district have no standing in appeal, SCOTUS says

GOP members of Congress from Virginia who live outside the state’s only majority black congressional district don’t have standing to appeal a decision striking down its creation, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday in a unanimous opinion (PDF) by Justice Stephen G. Breyer. The…

May 23, 2016 12:28 PM CDT

Trial starts for lawyer accused in managing partner attack; involuntary intoxication asserted

A trial begins today for a Virginia lawyer accused in knife attacks on a law firm managing partner and his wife in a harrowing November 2014 home invasion. Lawyers for the defendant, Andrew Schmuhl, hope to call a psychiatrist to testify about the effect of medications on his mental state…

May 16, 2016 8:53 AM CDT

Top Virginia court nixes alimony for woman now cohabiting in same-sex relationship

If Samantha Cucco, after her 2008 divorce, had been in living with a man in a relationship analogous to marriage, she would have forfeited the alimony her ex-husband agreed to pay for eight years. So, under a landmark U.S. Supreme Court same-sex marriage decision last year, it was only right…

May 3, 2016 7:45 AM CDT

Cops are accused of forfeiture misdeeds

Police and prosecutors in 43 states have an incentive to seize property under civil forfeiture laws that allow their departments to keep anywhere from 45 percent to 100 percent of the proceeds. But two recent prosecutions allege officers broke the law in their handling of seized cash, according to a…

Apr 15, 2016 2:36 PM CDT

Man is charged with murder in deaths of his dad and lawyer-mom on Easter Sunday

A 56-year-old Virginia lawyer was found fatally shot on Easter Sunday at home, along with her husband, and the couple’s 22-year-old son is facing two second-degree murder charges. At a Monday court hearing for William Roy Brissette, who is also facing felony firearm charges, the judge refused to set bond…

Mar 28, 2016 4:25 PM CDT

Civil rights suit says Virginia ‘drunkard’ law criminalizes those who are homeless alcoholics

A federal civil rights suit filed Thursday in Roanoke, Virginia says two cities are unconstitutionally jailing homeless alcoholics, after utilizing a civil statutory proceeding in which a judge declares an individual to be a “habitual drunkard.” Once branded in this manner under the so-called interdiction statute, a homeless alcoholic can…

Mar 4, 2016 1:40 PM CST

Middle schooler is criminally charged for making threats with emojis

A 12-year-old is being charged with making threats against her school using emojis, the Washington Post reported Saturday. The girl is from Fairfax, Virginia, and her name was not given because she’s a minor. Police say she made an Instagram post in December that said, in part: “Killing [gun emoji]…

Feb 29, 2016 2:55 PM CST

Judge threatens to jail lawyer who keeps arguing his client is victim of anti-Muslim hysteria

A federal magistrate judge deciding whether to release a Sudanese man charged with aiding and abetting another man’s attempt to join the Islamic State warned the defendant’s lawyer to stop arguing that he’s the victim of anti-Muslim hysteria–or else join his client in jail, the Washington Post reports. In an…

Jan 28, 2016 10:55 AM CST

Woman who told Rolling Stone of rape will have to turn over documents in defamation suit, judge says

A federal judge in Virginia has indicated he will require a woman who told Rolling Stone she was the victim of a gang rape to turn over her communications with the magazine to a defamation plaintiff. U.S. District Chief Judge Glen Conrad said in court on Tuesday that he will…

Jan 13, 2016 8:56 AM CST

Suit claims secretive ‘back-office deals’ at BigLaw firm favor males in pay and origination credit

A former female partner at LeClairRyan has filed a gender bias suit claiming the law firm favors males in partner compensation decisions that are “cloaked in secrecy.” Former partner Michele Burke Craddock filed the suit on Wednesday in federal court in Richmond, Virginia, report Richmond Biz Sense and the Am…

Jan 11, 2016 5:45 AM CST

Virginia state senator sues mental health agency and state over suicide and stabbing by his son

A Virginia state senator has sued the state and a local mental health agency for the wrongful death by suicide of his son, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. R. Creigh Deeds, a Democrat from Bath County, said his son Austin “Gus” Deeds was improperly denied treatment by the Rockbridge Area…

Jan 6, 2016 5:10 PM CST

May lawyers reveal client information to prevent suicide? Virginia ethics counsel has guidance

A lawyer may sometimes reveal client confidences to help a client who is threatening suicide, according to an update to the Virginia State Bar’s list on frequently asked legal-ethics questions. The topic is addressed by the state bar’s ethics counsel in “FAQ 26,” posted on Nov. 30. The Legal Profession…

Dec 10, 2015 5:45 AM CST

Detective drops defamation suit against lawyer over her comments about teen sexting investigation

A defamation suit by a Virginia police officer over comments made by a lawyer defending a teen in a sexting case has been withdrawn. However, it isn’t clear whether the Prince William Circuit Court suit against Jessica Harbeson Foster might possibly be refiled, reports the Washington Post (reg. req.) Foster…

Nov 20, 2015 1:55 PM CST