Evidence supports robbery convictions
Where appellant took some of his murder victims’ possessions, there was sufficient evidence for the trial court to find that appellant had the dual motives of killing and robbing the two victims. His...
View ArticleWritten threats sufficient for obstruction convictions
Where a search of appellant’s jail cell revealed his notes, which included threats to a woman he was charged with sexually assaulting and two investigators, this was sufficient evidence to sustain...
View ArticleAppellant not in custody while getting medical treatment
Where appellant made incriminating statements while being treated at a hospital for a gunshot wound, the statements were admissible because appellant was not in custody at the time. Overview...
View ArticlePreviously available evidence dooms actual innocence writ
The court denies a petition for a writ of actual innocence because it was based on evidence available to petitioner before his conviction became final in the circuit court. Background On July 27, 2010,...
View ArticleJudgment creditor could not compel interrogatory answers
The trial court correctly dismissed a judgment creditor’s summons to compel appellee to answer debtor’s interrogatories. Appellee was not among the class of individuals identified in Code §...
View ArticleClaimant did not sustain compensable injuries
The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission correctly determined that claimant’s complained-of injuries to his left ear, nose, face and neck were not compensable injuries. The commission also...
View ArticleNo standing to appeal VDOT land use permit
Appellant’s membership in a neighborhood association that opposed pipeline construction in their neighborhood did not give her standing to appeal the grant of a land use permit that authorized the...
View ArticleSufficient evidence supports rape conviction
Even if the trial court erred by excluding text-message evidence at appellant’s rape trial, any error was harmless given the “overwhelming” evidence corroborating the victim’s testimony that appellant...
View ArticleCourt should have struck juror who favored police
Where a juror’s voir dire responses revealed a favorable bias toward the police, and she stated she was concerned about doing a “disservice” by serving on the jury, the trial court erred by denying...
View ArticleAssisted living facility’s water system is ‘waterworks’
The Virginia Department of Health correctly determined that an assisted living facility’s water system meets the statutory definition of “waterworks,” and as such, the health department can regulate...
View ArticleHusband in contempt for violating settlement terms
The circuit court properly found husband in contempt for failing to pay child support and wife’s work-related child care costs. The parties’ property settlement agreement in the final order of divorce...
View ArticleParental rights not terminated by curtailed visitation
The circuit court did not “terminate” father’s parental rights when it denied his motion to change custody, imposed conditions father needed to meet before visitation could resume and issued a...
View ArticleConstitutional challenge to statute was untimely
Where appellant did not timely raise a constitution challenge to the statute under which he was convicted of child cruelty, we will not reach the merits of his claim. Background Robert Mollenhauer,...
View ArticleEvidence from cell phone search properly admitted
The trial court properly denied a motion to suppress evidence obtained from a warrantless search of appellant’s cell phone. The court correctly determined he abandoned the device at a restaurant. His...
View ArticleFall on vinyl covered stairs was not injury by accident
Where claimant slipped and was injured on vinyl-covered stairs at work, the covering was not a “hazard or danger peculiar to the workplace,” and thus claimant did not suffer an injury by accident. The...
View ArticleSex with wife against her will was rape
Appellant was properly convicted of rape after he forced his wife to have sex despite her repeated attempts to push him away and requests to stop. His argument that because the victim was his wife, the...
View ArticleParaphernalia conviction requires proof of intent
Appellant’s conviction of possessing controlled paraphernalia is reversed. The trial court ruled that appellant’s the mere possession of an unused hypodermic syringe and needle was sufficient to...
View ArticleUndocumented expenses struck from restitution order
Where appellant was convicted of grand larceny of a motor vehicle, the trial court’s restitution order must be reduced on remand. The car dealership did not itemize some of the claimed expenses to...
View ArticleSufficient evidence supports first-degree murder conviction
The commonwealth presented sufficient evidence from which the jury could conclude that appellant shot the victim and did so with premeditation. Appellant’s first-degree murder conviction is affirmed....
View ArticleTreating doctor’s ‘return to work’ opinion rejected
Where claimant’s employer required her to see a treating physician, who declared she was fit for work after suffering an employment-related injury, the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission...
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