Malveaux elected to Court of Appeals
Henrico County District Court Judge Mary B. Malveaux was elected to the Court of Appeals of Virginia the day the General Assembly adjourned its 2016 session. The Assembly March 11 tapped Malveaux to...
View ArticleGun & Drugs In Car, But No Sign of Conspiracy
The Court of Appeals reverses defendant’s conviction of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine because the commonwealth failed to prove any agreement, either express or implied,...
View ArticleTranscript Needed to Review Speedy Trial Claim
Although defendant presents a novel interpretation of Va. Code § 19.2-270.5, contending that the notice required under the statute should be tolled against the commonwealth because it was the...
View ArticleAbuse Findings Were Not Final Orders
A mother cannot appeal adjudicatory orders that her three children were without parental care or supervision due to their mother’s incarceration; the Court of Appeals says it lacks jurisdiction...
View ArticleStop Upheld On Officers’ ‘Collective Knowledge’
The Court of Appeals applies the “collective knowledge” doctrine to uphold the stop of a vehicle in North Carolina, based on reasonable articulable suspicion developed by a Richmond police detective...
View ArticleExclusion of ‘Moorish-American’ Claim Upheld
A defendant convicted of three misdemeanor traffic offenses was not denied his right to free exercise of religion when the trial court denied defendant the opportunity to explain to the jury his use...
View ArticleJuror Challenged On ‘Raising Fist’ to Woman
A defendant cannot overturn his conviction of assault and battery of a family member by claiming error when a trial judge denied defendant’s motion to strike a venire member who agreed with the...
View ArticleChild’s Injuries Showed Malice for Murder
A defendant who was the only adult at home when his 16-month-old daughter suffered several blows fracturing her skull and damaging her internal organs cannot overturn his conviction of first-degree...
View ArticleExperts Differed on Infant’s Head Trauma
A jury was entitled to reject expert testimony from a physician who offered alternative explanations for head trauma suffered by defendant’s infant daughter, in favor of an opinion by the...
View ArticleArgument in Car Was Not ‘Abduction’
The Court of Appeals reverses defendant’s conviction for abduction for arguing forcibly with his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his son while the two sat in her car after exchanging the son for...
View ArticleHearing Needed for Sentence Revocation
A defendant who grabbed a woman’s arm as she attempted to enter a portable toilet, detained her, pulled out his penis and urinated on her, was properly convicted of attempted abduction and that...
View ArticleStriking Spouse with Car Yields Hit & Run
A woman who threatened to kill her estranged husband and drove her car into his legs, and then failed to provide aid to him or information about the accident as required by statute, has her...
View ArticleDrugs Thrown From Car After Traffic Stop
Strong circumstantial evidence supported the trial court finding that defendant, who fled from a lawful traffic stop as police were bringing a dog to perform a canine sniff, threw a bag with 400...
View ArticleProsecutor Faulted for Closing Argument
A defendant’s conviction of dogfighting is reversed because the prosecutor’s recitation during closing argument of defendant’s prior criminal charges that purportedly went unpunished was so prejudicial...
View ArticleNo Review With Inadequate Proffer
A defendant failed to proffer at trial the reasons for additional questions he wanted to ask a detective on cross-examination about defendant’s cooperation with police, and the Court of Appeals...
View Article‘Reasonable Suspicion’ Challenge Not Preserved
The Court of Appeals upholds defendant’s conviction of driving after being declared an habitual offender, second or subsequent offense, in violation of Va. Code § 46.2-357; because defendant concedes...
View ArticleParents Lose Rights to 10 Children
The Court of Appeals upholds termination of a couple’s parental rights to their 10 children, as the record provides abundant evidence that the children suffered emotional and physical neglect while in...
View ArticleSilent Defendant Did Not Waive Jury Trial
Although defendant refused to participate in the colloquy during his arraignment for felony indecent exposure, the court’s conviction orders after a bench trial do not show that defendant expressly and...
View ArticlePerp’s Identity Shown for Home Invasion
Although defendant and his codefendant claimed their gunshot wounds occurred when they were caught in cross-fire at a party in Reidsville, N.C., forensic evidence showed their wounds were consistent...
View ArticleParent’s Rights Ended for Abuse & Neglect
Although mother claims she had substantially corrected conditions of abuse and neglect that had prompted removal of her child from her home shortly after the child’s birth, the Court of Appeals upholds...
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