January 2012

Earlier this week, we hosted the Virginia State Bar Appellate Section’s CLE on practicing before the Court of Appeals. The event was a success, but its timing was unfortunate: as James Markels noted in a comment to an earlier post, Senator Creigh Deeds just introduced SB 630, a bill to abolish the CAV.

I am told by a reliable source outside our firm that SB 630 is some kind of a statement being made by Senator Deeds, alone.

I am also told by sources closer to home that I should not make fun of legislators while Monica is a candidate for the Court of Appeals.

Ergo, I will not waste your time arguing against SB 630. (Although a person inclined to make such an argument might start with the caseload reports.)

Instead, secure in the knowledge that we’ve dodged intermediate appellate Armageddon for now, I will pass along some tips from the CLE after the jump.Continue Reading La Fin Absolue du CAV?

The Supreme Court of Virginia handed down a remarkable bath of opinions on Friday.

The 20 opinions included 7 dissenting opinions, which is highly unusual for a court previous notable for its consensus.

Stranger still, the 12 civil cases generated all 7 dissenting opinions (one case, Weedon v. Weedon, generated two separate dissenting opinions).

It looks like things could get a little bumpy in the near future.

Here’s a quick breakdown of who did what (including cases with concurrences as split cases):

Chief Justice Kinser

  • Votes Cast: 20
  • In Majority: 20
  • In Dissent: 0
  • In Majority in Split Cases: 7/7
  • Opinions Written: 2

Justice Lemons

  • Votes Cast: 19
  • In Majority: 18
  • In Dissent: 1
  • In Majority in Split Cases: 6/7
  • Opinions Written: 2

Continue Reading January SCV Opinions by the Numbers

Here’s a question: Is it stranger that the Supreme Court of Virginia decides some cases by unpublished order, or that it publishes any opinions at all?

A colleague and I were recently trying to track down a recent unpublished order from the SCV the other day. We weren’t having much luck–we couldn’t find it on…