- Divorce
- Child Support
- Child Custody and Visitation
- Paternity
- Guardianship
- DUI/DWIHeath alleged that Spero had been convicted of DUI within one year of the child’s birth. Spero claimed that Heath was a drug dealer who provided no support for the child. She also claimed that H eath was planning to move to Amsterdam, which raises the question of why a drug dealer would move to a place where many drugs are legal? In any event, the circuit court held that it would be in the best interest of the child to change her surname to Heath, and the mother appealed.
- Wrongful Death
- Sex Crimes
- RobberyIssue: Was the defendant who was acquitted of robbery for taking a bicycle from an 11-year-old boy subjected to double jeopardy when he was later indicted for the lesser included charge of grand larceny?
- BurglaryIssue: Did the defendant, who was dropped off and picked up at the crime scene by his mother, commit burglary under Va. Code Ann. § 18-2-90 when he entered a landowner’s shed and stole tools?
- Theft
- MisdemeanorsThe supreme court noted that a lay person may give an opinion regarding the value of property but that the owner never gave such an opinion at trial. As to the prosecutor’s statements, the court succinctly stated that counsel may not testify and that indictments are not evidence. The court understood that the owner may have implicitly agreed with the figure, but the court held that such an inference was too attenuated and that “[p]roperly used... an inference may extend a syllogism–not begin one.” 41 Va. App at 665, 588 S.E.2d at 388. The court held that given the evidence no reasonable factfinder could conclude the defendant had destroyed more than $1,000 of property and reversed the trial court but remanded the case for retrial for the lesser included offense of misdemeanor destruction of prop erty.
- AssaultThe boy sued by his next friend, his father, alleging simple and gross negligence and assault and battery. The trial court granted Garnett's demurrer on the grounds that the coach had sovereign immunity because the boy did not plead sufficient facts to support a finding of lack of consent to the tackling demonstration. Sovereign immunity in Virginia may shield public employees from actions for simple negligence but not intentional torts and gross negligence.
- MurderNancy Grace, the brash CNN talking head who highlights sordid stories of murder and sex nightly on her network, actually has at least one admirer. Unfortunately for Ms. Grace, he is a wacko.
- Shoplifting
- ForgeryThe court of appeals noted Stephens v. Commonwealth, 263 Va. 58, 557 S.E.2d 227 (2002), in ruling that the doctrine did not apply to non-larceny cases. The court rejected Martin's reliance on a 10th Circuit case likening larceny to the forgery of a private document for theft purposes. The 10th Circuit court had held that under this analysis the single larceny rule could apply to convictions for forgery and uttering. The court of appeals, though, found that the crime of forgery of a public document does not involve a personal loss of property as in private forgery or larceny cases.
- ManslaughterThe New Jersey Court of Appeals will hear ex-NBA star Jayson Williams' appeal of the trial court's denial of his motion to dismiss his indictment for manslaughter and related offenses. Williams contends that the prosecutor, in his presentation to the grand jury, made repeated improper references to Williams' exercise of his Fifth Amendment rights during the police's investigation of the shooting death of limousine driver Costas (Gus) Christofi on Valentine's Day 2002.
- Trade Secrets
- Unfair CompetitionThe Supreme Court of the United States recently heard oral arguments in Nike, Inc. v. Kasky, 45 P.3d 243 (Cal. 2002), cert. granted, 71 USLW 3319 (U.S. Jan. 10, 2003) (No. 02-575). Nike is appealing the California Supreme Court's decision that the company's public relations efforts to counter accusations its foreign factories are sweatshops constitute "commercial speech" that is subject to the Unfair Competition Law, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200, et seq.
- Workers CompensationMoore, though, the court had held that the plaintiff must elect between relief under the federal Longshore Act and the state worker's compensation laws.
- Employment DiscriminationRalph Andrews, a 76-year-old TV game show veteran, has sued Dick Clark, a.k.a. the “World’s Oldest Teenager,” for age discrimination. Mr. Andrews sought employment with Dick Clark Productions, Inc. in on-and- off negotiations for over a year. Mr. Clark eventually wrote Mr. Andrews a letter in which he praised Mr. Andrews for his career accomplishments but declined to hire him and stated that Mr. Andrews was a “dinosaur” and that show business was being run by the “next generation.”
- Eminent Domain
- Landlord-Tenant Disputes
- Personal Injury
- Medical Malpractice
- Wills
- Bankruptcy
- Foreclosure