Appeals in Virginia Criminal Cases

On January 1, 2022, one of the largest shifts in criminal law occurred in the Commonwealth.  For the first time since its inception in 1985, all criminal cases that are appealed to the Court are … [Read more...]

Will Contests in Virginia

Loosing a loved one is hard.  Learning that they were taken advantage of - and deciding whether or not to take legal action to go after those who have taken advantage of your loved one is even harder … [Read more...]

Mental Health and Criminal Law, Part Two.

In our last post, we looked at the insanity defense in Virginia.  For most of the legal history of our Commonwealth, the insanity defense was the only defense available for those suffering from mental … [Read more...]

Mental Health and Criminal Law, Part One.

The criminal justice system has a very bright line rule about mental health and criminal responsibility.  As long as crime has been around, the defense of not guilty by reason of insanity has been … [Read more...]

Probation Reform Update

It has been six months since Virginia law changed regarding probation violations, and there are still more questions than answers as to the application of this law. A few things have become clear … [Read more...]

What is Service of Process and Why is it Important?

Have you ever been to Court and had the following occur: the other party is not present and the Judge states that there is no service on the party and dismisses the proceedings? That is because the … [Read more...]

Equitable Distribution: What is Hybrid Property?

When spouses in Virginia get divorced, they may ask the court to divide their property. The process of division of property is called “equitable distribution” in Virginia. This process is governed by … [Read more...]

Setting up your appeal when trial doesn’t go as planned.

Every attorney who does any significant trial work—and many clients beside them—recognize even in the middle of trial when a ruling has gone against them and their case will not recover. It’s a … [Read more...]