Virginia

Defense lawyer says he didn’t call sentencing witness because of courtroom camera fear

Both the prosecution and the defense objected when a judge in Fairfax County, Va., allowed news media cameras in the courtroom during a recent murder trial. It was the first time cameras were allowed in a Fairfax County courtroom since 1994. According to the Washington Post, “No media circus ensued.”…

Aug 30, 2013 2:00 PM CDT

Man convicted of trying to kill ex-wife’s divorce lawyer

A Virginia man has been found guilty of trying to kill his ex-wife’s divorce lawyer. Mark M. Lowe, 42, was convicted Tuesday on five charges, including attempted murder, abduction, unlawfully shooting into an occupied dwelling and two counts of felonious use of a firearm, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. The jury,…

Aug 21, 2013 7:32 PM CDT

19 ‘right to dry’ states outlaw clothesline bans; is yours among them?

Once upon a time, a clothesline was a standard feature of most back yards. But concern that publicly airing clean laundry attached with clothespins to a rope or wire was unsightly, or obstructed views, or even created a safety risk (strangulation is sometimes cited) led a number of condominium associations…

Aug 14, 2013 8:24 PM CDT

Virginia AG defends state’s anti-sodomy law, seeks stay of 4th Circuit ruling

Corrected: Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is defending his state’s anti-sodomy law in the prosecution of a man accused of demanding oral sex from a 17-year-old girl. Cuccinelli has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal of a 2-1 March decision (PDF) overturning the law by the Richmond,…

Aug 7, 2013 12:12 PM CDT

Cuccinelli ‘egomaniac’ criticism by blog commenter led to my firing, says suit by ex-assistant AG

A former assistant attorney general in Virginia claims in a lawsuit that she was improperly fired because of suspicions she called her boss an “egomaniac” in an anonymous comment on a newspaper blog. Samantha Vanterpool says she was fired because of suspicions she was the person who posted negative comments…

Aug 6, 2013 2:41 PM CDT

Virginia AG’s late disclosure of free vacations and stock did not violate law, review finds

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has been cleared of wrongdoing by a Richmond prosecutor who looked into Cuccinelli’s late disclosure of stock holdings in a diet-supplement company and gifts from its chief executive. Richmond Commonwealth Attorney Mike Herring found no evidence that late disclosures by Cuccinelli, a gubernatorial candidate, were…

Jul 19, 2013 2:47 PM CDT

Stalkers steer sex-seeking strangers to victims’ homes through false online ads

About 100 men showed up at a Virginia women’s home expecting sex after her vengeful ex-boyfriend duplicitously solicited them using her identity. Frightened by her unwanted and in some cases aggressive visitors (one came with a crowbar and another rammed her security gate), the woman is one of a growing…

Jul 15, 2013 9:15 PM CDT

Lawyer who urged client to clean up Facebook page has paid $544K legal bill; now faces ethics case

A Virginia lawyer who ran afoul of discovery requirements in a major wrongful-death trial by allegedly encouraging a client to clean up his Facebook account has paid his $544,000 share of a $722,000 legal fee award to opposing counsel and seen an $8.5 million award to his client and other…

Jul 11, 2013 11:10 AM CDT

Courthouse renovation uncovers Civil War-era graffiti; historical society wants to look for more

A major renovation project at the courthouse in Woodstock, Va., has uncovered graffiti believed to date back to the Civil War era. The Shenandoah County Historical Society hired an architectural historian to examine the landmark building, and now wants to hire a conservator to look for more of the long-ago…

Jul 10, 2013 11:50 AM CDT

Law school sues insurer, seeks coverage of civil racketeering case

Liberty University School of Law has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to force its insurance carrier to defend the institution in an earlier civil racketeering case over a child-custody battle between married same-sex parents, reports Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s VLW Blog. The underlying suit, which is proceeding in federal court in…

Jun 19, 2013 9:30 PM CDT

Assistant AG’s advice to gas companies was ‘shocking,’ says federal judge

A federal judge expressed alarm in a Wednesday opinion that an assistant attorney general for the state of Virginia has been advising natural gas companies in a court dispute and that a lead lawyer for the plaintiff landowners in the $30 million royalties case called the state their “stooge.” “Shockingly,”…

Jun 7, 2013 4:44 PM CDT

Suing ex-client for $500K in divorce fees led to disbarment ruling for former bar president

A decision to sue a former client, who happened to be an attorney, for $500,000 in allegedly unpaid legal fees in a divorce case has led to a disbarment ruling against a former Virginia Bar Association president who was once considered one of the titans of the Washington, D.C., matrimonial…

May 22, 2013 10:58 AM CDT

Server location key to jurisdiction in international cases, US Attorney asserts

U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia is claiming jurisdiction to pursue cases against alleged international copyright pirates and out-of-state securities fraud defendants, citing the location of computer servers in his district. The Associated Press explains. MacBride says he has jurisdiction over most securities fraud cases because…

Mar 26, 2013 11:00 AM CDT

Prosecutor’s use of undercover paralegal in ethics spat brings reprimand

A county attorney in Caroline County, Va., has been reprimanded for using undercover tactics in a quest to learn whether a criminal defense lawyer was making do with just “two books and some scrap paper,” as he told jurors at the trial of a client. Commonwealth’s Attorney Anthony “Tony” Spencer…

Mar 25, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Suspect in courthouse bomb-threat case faces 4 felonies, is held without bond

A 21-year-old man accused of calling in a courthouse bomb threat from a pay telephone in order to try to avoid his scheduled sentencing that morning in a malicious wounding case is now facing a new case. Devon Tyrell Slaughter is charged with four felonies concerning the Feb. 20 incident,…

Mar 5, 2013 5:45 PM CST