On the new judges (2012/5/15)

Last night, the General Assembly selected the following: to the Court of Appeals - The Honorable Teresa M. Chafin, of Russell, as a judge of the Court of Appeals of Virginia for a term of eight years commencing June 1, 2012. to the Circuit Courts - The Honorable Marcus H. Long, Jr., of Montgomery, as a judge of the Twenty-seventh Judicial Circuit for a term of eight years commencing July 1, 2012. The Honorable Sage B. Johnson, of Washington, as a judge of the Twenty-eighth Judicial Circuit for a term of eight years commencing July 1, 2012. to the General District Courts - V. Blake McKinney, of Washington, as a judge of the Twenty-eighth Judicial District for a term of six years commencing July 1, 2012. Clarence E. Phillips, of Dickenson, as a judge of the Thirtieth Judicial District for a ...

Local Burn Restrictions (2012/5/15)

Current list of localities with additional outdoor fire restrictions currently in effect.

Fire Situation Report (2012/5/15)

The Fire Situation Report from the Virginia Department of Forestry's Resource Protection Division. This report is updated each workday during the spring and fall fire seasons.

That's what the defendant's lawyers are always telling me (2012/5/9)

A headline from today's VLW daily alert: "Minor's suit a legal nullity."

The citizen-lawyer from Roanoke (2012/5/3)

I was delighted to read this morning that Hampden-Sydney College has selected Mike Pace , a former president of The Virginia Bar Association , to receive the Patrick Henry Award, given by the Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest. Only a handful of other Virginia lawyers have received this award, including William T. Wilson of Covington, Julious Smith of the Williams Mullen firm, Judge Jere M.H. Willis, Jr. of Fredericksburg, Judge Joseph A. Leafe of Norfolk, and former U.S. Senators Spong and Trible. I am a big fan of Mike Pace.

Making up another cause of action - the self-serving derivative suit (2012/4/23)

In Virginia, the derivative action for shareholders is a creature of statute. Under the statute, Va. Code 13.1-672.1 , a shareholder cannot bring a derivative action on behalf of the corporation unless he or she can show four facts, in addition to fulfilling the procedural prerequisites to such an action: A shareholder shall not commence or maintain a derivative proceeding unless the shareholder: 1. Was a shareholder of the corporation at the time of the act or omission complained of; 2. Became a shareholder through transfer by operation of law from one who was a shareholder at that time; or 3. Became a shareholder before public disclosure and without knowledge of the act or omission complained of; and 4. Fairly and adequately represents the interests of the corporation in enforcing the ri...

Making up a new cause of action for the Commonwealth (2012/4/23)

Today, the Virginia Supreme Court decided in Wyatt v. McDermott to recognize in response to a certified question a claim for "tortious interference with parental rights." The context was a lawsuit by the father of a child against the lawyers who arranged for the adoption of the child by a couple in Utah, along with the new parents, and the agency that was involved with the adoption - everyone but the mother. The federal court certified to the Virginia Supreme Court two questions: 1. Whether the Commonwealth of Virginia recognizes tortious interference with parental rights as a cause of action? 2. If so, what are the elements of the cause of action, and what is the burden of proof of such a claim? The Supreme Court answered yes, by a 4-3 vote with Justices Mims, McClanahan, and Goodwyn in d...

In the Chicago style of lawyering (2012/4/13)

Years ago, I told this story , including a reference to Clarence Darrow. Recently, I read Clarence Darrow: Attorney for the Damned , and it is an outstanding book. One part of it came to mind recently when I read of the recent statements by President Obama, pressuring the Supreme Court into upholding the Affordable Care Act. In the trial of Leopold and Loeb , Darrow got the two killers to plead guilty without an agreement on sentencing. In the same manner as President Obama, the prosecutor applied extra-legal arguments to shame the judge into giving the killers the death penalty. Darrow knew better than to respond in kind, based on his view that likeability wins cases. The judge's comments suggest that the prosecutor's over-reaching might have been the main reason why he gave the killers l...

On traveling to New York City (2012/4/9)

Our gang took a road trip to New York City, where I had not been since a DRI conference in 2005 and not just for fun since 1995. In the circumstances, it was a great adventure - the Amtrak to Penn Station, the subway, the Top of the Rock, the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, seeing The Phantom of the Opera again at the Majestic. It was no less of an adventure for having done some of the same things thirty or twenty or seven years ago. Along the way, the train passed by among other things the Philadelphia Zoo, where I saw their oldest gorilla in the Spring of 1983. The train crossed the Susquehanna, skirted the Chesapeake, and cruised past the D.C. monuments and some of the Johns Hopkins buildings in Baltimore. And, passing by all these places and thinking of different times I had been there...

HB1528 - Virginia - Southwest Virginia Health Facilities Authority; change in membership of board of directors. (2012/4/5)

Summary as passed: Southwest Virginia Health Facilities Authority. Makeschanges to the membership of the board of directors of such authority.

SB740 - Virginia - Southwest Regional Recreation Authority; established. (2012/4/5)

Southwest Regional Recreation Authority. Establishesan authority for Southwest Virginia to create a multi-purpose regionalrecreational area similar to, and potentially adjoining, such areas in WestVirginia and Kentucky. The recreational area might consist of various trailsand other amenities on private open-space lands where members of the publiccould, for example, hunt, fish, boat, camp, ride motorcycles or all-terrainvehicles, ride mountain bikes, or ride horses. The Southwest RegionalRecreation Authority would have various powers to manage the area by raisingfunds, employing staff, and adopting rules punishable by civil penalties.Landowners participating in the recreation area would be afforded a limitedliability for persons engaging in recreational activities on their property.

SB653 - Virginia - Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Commission, created. (2012/4/5)

Summary as passed Senate: Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Commission. Creates the Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Commission in theexecutive branch of state government to encourage the economic developmentof Southwest Virginia through the expansion of cultural heritage venturesand initiatives related to tourism and other asset-based enterprises,including the Southwest Virginia Artisan Center, the Crooked Road,Round The Mountain, and related cultural heritage organizations andvenues that promote entrepreneurial and employment opportunities. This bill is identical to HB 781 (Kilgore).

HB781 - Virginia - Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Commission, created. (2012/4/5)

Summary as passed: Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Commission. Createsthe Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Commission to encourage the economicdevelopment of Southwest Virginia through the expansion of cultural heritageventures and initiatives related to tourism and other asset-based enterprises,including the Southwest Virginia Artisan Center, the Crooked Road, Round TheMountain, and related cultural heritage organizations and venues that promoteentrepreneurial and employment opportunities. The bill sets out the membershipof the Commission and its powers and duties. An emergency clause makes the billeffective upon its passage. This bill is identical to SB 653 (Wampler).

Statewide Tornado Drill is now in effect (2012/3/20)

Statewide Tornado Drill is now in effect. Proceed immediately to evacuation points. Follow Building Warden instructions. SWCC Alert is powered by Cooper Notification RSAN

On eating with dogs (2012/3/14)

"I never met a dog that didn't beg at the table. If there is a dog that doesn't, it has had all the dog scared out of it. But a dog is not a sneak thief like a cat. It doesn't snatch and run, except if presented with an irresistible opportunity. It is a dinner companion. It is delighted that you are eating, thinks it's a jolly good idea, and wants to be sure your food is as delicious as you deserve. You are under a psychological compulsion to give it a taste, particularly when it goes into convulsions of gratitude. Dogs remember every favor you ever do for them and store those events in a memory bank titled Why My Human Is a God." Roger Ebert, Life Itself .

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