Senate Bill 999 has passed the Senate and been reported out of the Civil Subcommittee from the House Courts of Justice Committee. The bill, if passed by the House and signed by the Governor, would have two important...more
In a case, as they say, ripped from the headlines, the Virginia Court of Appeals has put on a clinic explaining the inter-play between the First Amendment and defamation law. The Court, in Patel v. CNN made clear that...more
If you enjoy a little appellate litigation geekery, Watts v. Commonwealth, from the Court of Appeals of Virginia, is a treat of a case. It’s got technical rules governing the difference between a trial court’s oral rulings...more
Almost 50 years ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in a short, six paragraph opinion, ruled that pro se parties, those without lawyers, are entitled to “notice sufficiently understandable to [the pro se...more
The Supreme Court of Virginia taught appellate practitioners yet another hard lesson in how procedural pitfalls can scuttle otherwise compelling appeals. In Eckard v. Commonwealth, the pitfall was failing to get the complete...more
Sometimes oral argument in a case highlights oddities of the work we do. That happened today in the Virginia Supreme Court in LaRock v. City of Norfolk. Can an appellate court in a particular case go outside the appellate...more
Evans v. Evans has rightly received attention for its helpful discussion of when notice by publication is permitted. Less prominently featured, but as important for appellate practitioners, is the Supreme Court’s discussion...more
In U.S. v. Jenkins, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit handed down an opinion with an interesting wrinkle for appellate practitioners. It took up the question of when an appellate record that’s incomplete, on...more