Supreme Court reverses reversal of conviction
The Supreme Court’s decision in Coleman v. Johnson, reversing the Third Circuit’s decision to overturn Johnson’s conviction, seems like not a very big deal, unless you spend a lot of time looking at U.S. Supreme Court decisions. The Court almost never summarily reverses a lower-court decision in favor of a criminal defendant, but it did here, and that is just another indication of how far the pendulum has swung against criminal defendants. ...
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Domestic strangulation and domestic homicide
The Maryland legislature’s effort to punish domestic strangulation more harshly, while being rooted in a medical paper, is ultimately misguided. Domestic violence laws need to result in more interventions into abusive relationships, not necessarily more jail time....
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Changes are coming in Virginia DUI laws on July 1
Virginia DUI laws are changing effective July 1, requiring much greater use of ignition interlock devices. Look at the changes, and how they will affect people charged with DUI in Virginia....
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Foxfield races yield lots of drunk in public arrests
Every year, Albemarle General District Court is flooded with alcohol-related offenses growing out of the Foxfield Races. If you have been arrested for underage possession of alcohol there is a diversion program that may be just fine for you, and you may not need a lawyer at all; for other charges, it would probably be useful to have counsel. Call us at 434-293-8185 if we can help....
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Yeardley Love family sues George Huguely
Yeardley Love’s mother has filed suit against George Huguely, alleging that he is responsible for her death. The suit is for more than $29 million. ...
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Foreign drugs can’t be imported to kill people
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon has ruled that states who want to use sodium pentothal as a part of the mixture of drugs that goes into a lethal injection can’t use imported pentothal, because the FDA has not certified that it is safe. Conservatives have the knee-jerk reaction — “judicial activism” — but any analysis of what “judicial activism” disproves that idea....
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Culpeper murder verdict reversal highlights flaws in system
Michael Hash was falsely imprisoned for 12 years on a capital murder conviction based on prosecutorial and police misconduct. And Virginia’s trial procedures need to change so that this doesn’t happen again....
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Protestors at Virginia Capitol arrested
Protestors at the Virginia Capitol were arrested on “unlawful assembly” charges, charges that will almost surely be thrown out....
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Huguely — the aftermath
The day after the Huguely verdicts, some questions — what will happen at the April hearing that the judge talked about? Where will George Huguely serve his time? How much of the sentence will he actually serve? Will there be an appeal?...
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Jury recommends 26 years for Huguely
The jury has recommended a total of 26 years for George Huguely....
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