Category Archives: Criminal Law
Preserving Your Case: Preparing and Retaining Evidence
Most people are familiar with the phrase “it’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove.” Unfortunately, this phrase is too rarely put to practice by small businesses and individuals engaged in business. In every consultation one of the first questions I ask clients, after they have shared their facts with me, is what […]
Suspect Mentally Able To Stand Trial
In October 2013, state District Judge Pamela O’Berry ruled that 23-year-old Herbert C. Bland, Jr. is competent to stand trial for murder. Mr. Bland, who has a history of mental illness, stands charged with the murder of two Chesterfield County women in January 2013. Mr. Bland is also implicated in the murder of a third […]
Animal Cruelty Laws in Virginia
A North Carolina man allegedly shot and killed a horse while the man was on a crime spree in Virginia. In October 2013, Chesterfield police issued an arrest warrant for 20-year-old Steven Dunn of Greensboro, North Carolina. Mr. Dunn and some companions allegedly broke into houses in a Chesterfield neighborhood, broke into cars in a […]
Arrested For Carrying Concealed Weapon
On October 8, 2013, Newport News police arrested a man for unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon. Police say they detained 24-year-old Phillip Lee Morris of Hampton at about 4:00 p.m. Mr. Morris was in a vehicle near the corner of 25th and Buxton, and police noticed what they believed to be drugs in the car. […]
Arrested For Carrying Concealed Weapon
On October 8, 2013, Newport News police arrested a man for unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon. Police say they detained 24-year-old Phillip Lee Morris of Hampton at about 4:00 p.m. Mr. Morris was in a vehicle near the corner of 25th and Buxton, and police noticed what they believed to be drugs in the car. […]
Virginia Supreme Court Applies Brady Rule
In the April 18, 2013 decision in Commonwealth v. Tuma, Mr. Tuma was charged with various counts, including taking indecent liberties with a child and aggravated sexual battery. Authorities taped an interview between investigators and the child, and the tape may have contained evidence favorable to Mr. Tuma. Prosecutors withheld the tape, and Mr. Tuma’s […]
Virginia Supreme Court Applies Brady Rule
In the April 18, 2013 decision in Commonwealth v. Tuma, Mr. Tuma was charged with various counts, including taking indecent liberties with a child and aggravated sexual battery. Authorities taped an interview between investigators and the child, and the tape may have contained evidence favorable to Mr. Tuma. Prosecutors withheld the tape, and Mr. Tuma’s […]
Study Connects Mass Shooting And Domestic Violence
A recent study found that there has been one mass shooting per month in the United States since 2009, and domestic violence was a common factor in many of the cases. The study was commissioned by the advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Among some of the more interesting findings: Mass shootings account for less […]
