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I freely admit that this post is overdue. But I have the good excuse that I have actually been drawing some interest in my new role as an appellant consultant – no earned fees yet, but perhaps soon. To delay not further, lets jump right into James Daniel Sarka v....
There is a story, possibly apocryphal, that when a new English translation of the Bible was being edited the committee charged with updating the language was stumped by a term in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The father, you will recall, upon seeing his son from...
The maxim, Si Tacuisses, Philosophus Mansisses is often attributed to the Latin philosopher Boethius. An exact translation is "If you had been silent, you would have remained a philosopher," but more colloquially it has been rendered "If you'd kept your mouth shut,...
Continuing my review of cases handed down before this blog launched, I came across Fletcher v. Commonwealth, a published decision from November of last year, which is worthy of note because it contains that rarest of animals in appellate jurisprudence – an unpreserved...
Ok The main part of this blog is devoted to decisions of the Court of Appeals of Virginia. Occasionally, however, I will stray in other issues and that is what the Soapbox is for. Today, I climb up on that precarious perch to address an issue in an unpublished order...
Private prosecutions are not a unique feature of Virginia law and the practice is even common in some states. In Virginia, however, the practice is usually confined to two instances. The first is where an expert in a field that is beyond the common knowledge of the...
Norman L. Blowe, Jr. v. Commonwealth of Virginia 10/27/2020. It was not disputed that, in Blowe’s trial for two counts of production of child pornography, multiple counts of possession of child pornography and taking indecent liberties with a child in a custodial...
The Court of Appeals hands down two published opinions today, both in Domestic Relations cases. The first involves cross-appeals and an assignment of cross error with respect to the granting of a divorce, while the second involves a daughter, as executor of her...
“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy (1878). While I hold Tolstoy in high esteem as an author, the opening line of Anna Karenina shows undoubtedly that Tolstoy never practiced domestic relations...
When I began this blog about a month ago, I promised that would from time to time reach back to review opinions of the Court of Appeals from before that inception date when I had the time and felt that there was something of note. I must confess that what originally...