Steve Emmert reports that today’s writ arguments before the Supreme Court of Virginia have been postponed. The Chief Staff Attorney’s office advises that appellants are being given the choice of arguing by telephone tomorrow, waiving oral argument, or arguing in person at a later date. (As a fairly obvious practice point, it’s never a good
Supreme Court of Virginia Releases January Opinions
On Friday, the Supreme Court of Virginia handed down 18 published opinions and two orders. As always, Steve Emmert has a witty write-up (along with a new photo on his web page–looking good, Steve). The VLW Blog also discusses some of the highlights. The bulk of January cases are either criminal appeals or habeas proceedings; I haven’t done the math myself, but Emmert breaks it down to 15 criminal appeals/habeas proceedings and 5 civil matters.
As you might have noticed, I wasn’t exactly on top of this breaking news–or much of anything else that happened over the past week, for that matter. Here’s my excuse:
From January 8-14, I attended the the National Trial Advocacy College at the University of Virginia. It’s off-topic, so I won’t bore you with the details, but it was probably the best educational experience of my life. The faculty was spectacular, the exercises were demanding, and the feedback was brutally honest. Further, I got to spend a week with dozens of talented and motivated lawyers working to get better at their job. That was fun. It was also a neat reminder of how lucky we are to do what we do.
But it gets better. I capped that off with an oral argument before the Supreme Court on Friday. For obvious reasons, I can’t discuss the case. But I really treasure the opportunities I get to argue before the Court. Oral argument is the reward for all of the hard work you put into briefing and preparing (although somehow, thinking of it that way doesn’t make me any less nervous). Different people go to law school for different reasons. If you ask me, the coolest thing you can do with a JD is to have a conversation with the Commonwealth’s highest court about what the law is (or should be), and help them get to a fair result that will justly govern future cases. It was a brilliant end to a perfect week.Continue Reading Supreme Court of Virginia Releases January Opinions
Supreme Court of Virginia January Argument Docket
Here’s the merits argument lineup for next week in the Supreme Court of Virginia. Civil cases follow after the jump.
We’ll be in Richmond on Friday. Give me a shout if you will be in town and would like to grab lunch.
Criminal Cases
|
Record Number |
Style of Case |
Appellants’ Counsel |
Appellees’ Counsel |
Appealed From |
|
090526 |
Segretto v. Commonwealth |
Kevin L. Leahy; Weimer & Boyce |
William C. Mims, Attorney General; Leah A. Darron, Senior Assistant Attorney General |
Court of Appeals of Virginia |
|
090813 |
Neria, etc. v. Commonwealth |
Patrick M. Blanch; Elders & Zinicola |
William C. Mims, Attorney General; Jennifer C. Williamson, Assistant Attorney General |
Court of Appeals of Virginia |
|
090979 |
Jones v. Commonwealth |
Cassandra M. Hausrath, Assistant Public Defender |
William C. Mims, Attorney General; Leah A. Darron, Senior Assistant Attorney General |
Court of Appeals of Virginia |
|
091015 |
Fullwood v. Commonwealth |
Charles E. Haden |
William C. Mims, Attorney General; Jennifer C. Williamson, Assistant Attorney General |
Court of Appeals of Virginia |
|
091031 |
Friend v. Commonwealth |
Joseph A. Sadighian, Senior Assistant Appellate Defender |
William C. Mims, Attorney General; Benjamin H. Katz, Assistant Attorney General |
Court of Appeals of Virginia |
|
091120 |
Ghameshouly, etc. v. Commonwealth |
Justin W. Esworthy, Assistant Public Defender |
William C. Mims, Attorney General; Eugene Murphy, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Mark D. Stiles, City Attorney; Christopher S. Boynton, Deputy City Attorney; Natalie P. Mann, Assistant City Attorney |
Court of Appeals of Virginia |
|
091299 |
Roberson v. Commonwealth |
John D. Hooker, Jr.; Steven P. Letourneau; Hooker & Associates |
William C. Mims, Attorney General; Virginia B. Theisen, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Mark D. Stiles, City Attorney; Christopher S. Boynton, Deputy City Attorney; Natalie P. Mann, Assistant City Attorney |
Court of Appeals of Virginia |
|
091177 |
Harris v. Commonwealth |
Joseph T. Brown; Rebecca K. Glenberg |
William C. Mims, Attorney General; Susan M. Harris, Assistant Attorney General |
Court of Appeals of Virginia |
Continue Reading Supreme Court of Virginia January Argument Docket
Tom Goldstein Issues Public Apology
Stunning news from Yorba Linda Washington, DC: appellate superstar and SCOTUSblog mastermind Tom Goldstein has issued a shocking public apology:
It’s hard not to like the guy, but I am reserving judgment until I see the text messages.
Tribe with Feathers After All?
All productive work at the Firm on the Move (TM) instantly ground to a halt today when the VLW reported the finalists in the William & Mary mascot search. The W&M website has pictures of the finalists. I’d post them, but I’m not sure about the trademark implications and I think that I’m
Better than a Baseball Card? FantasySCOTUS.net
Obviously aware that my birthday is coming up, James Markels over at the Virginia Business Law Blog forwarded a link to FantastySCOTUS.net. Billed as the premier Supreme Court fantasy league, it’s basically fantasy football, except that you win points by picking the outcomes of decisions, the split, and how the individual justices will vote
Supreme Court of Virginia Releases November Opinions
On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Virginia released a batch of opinions. I know that I’m late to the party–I’ve been out sick–but here is a quick run down of the results:
|
Case |
Appellant’s Counsel |
Appellee’s Counsel |
Result |
|
Hutchins v. Talbert, Record No. 081632 |
Alfred F. Belcuore |
Keenan Nomination Watch
The VLW Blog reports that the Senate Judiciary Committee has unanimously approved Justice Keenan’s nomination to the Fourth Circuit. Justice Keenan is President Obama’s second nominee for one of the five open spots on that court. The National Review Online states that ranking minority member Jeff Sessions called Justice Keenan a “fine nominee.”
SCV November Argument Docket
The Supreme Court of Virginia posts its November argument docket.
Continue Reading SCV November Argument Docket
Gone Fishin’
Sorry for the lack of substantive posts recently. I have a four-day jury trial this week.
I will return to the blogosphere as soon as possible.