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Indecent Exposure: “Mooning” is Not “Obscene”

Can one be convicted in Virginia for “Indecent Exposure” for “mooning” someone?  According to the Court of Appeal in a case out of Shenandoah County, the answer is “no.” A 14 year old kid “mooned” his school bus driver on the last day of school.  (“Mooning” involves exposing one’s buttocks).  In this instance, the child asked his bus driver, “Ms. Bridget, you want to know what the little piggy said all the way home?”  He…

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Embezzlement: Employment Agreements Control Application of Funds Received

A lawyer in the Richmond area practiced Social Security law.  As is common in that practice area, the government would pay attorney fees directly to the lawyer providing the services.  However, the lawyer in this case had an employment agreement with her firm stating that the money belonged to the firm, even if the funds were made payable to her. Temptation took the best of her, and the lawyer kept many of the checks she

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Possession of a Concealed Weapon: A Gun in an Unlocked Glove Box is Permitted

A person was convicted of Possession of a Concealed Weapon when he was caught with handgun in a closed, but not locked, glove compartment in his car.  The question on appeal was whether a person can keep a gun in his car’s unlocked glove compartment without a concealed weapons permit. The Court of Appeals reviewed the history behind the concealed weapons law – Virginia Code sec. 18.2-308 — and held that the statute required that

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Always Read the Fine Print

Scanning the tabloids at the local supermarket, it is obvious that divorce cases can involve big bucks.  That’s why the rich and famous often employ skilled attorneys regarding business transactions, contract negotiations, and, when necessary, family law matters. To be sure, the run of the mill divorce case in Virginia does not necessarily have the same pizazz as the latest with TomKat (the former union of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes for those of you

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Rape: After a Man is Convicted of Rape on Eyewitness Testimony, the Prosecutor Can Charge and Convict Another on DNA Evidence Years Later

The Virginia Court of Appeals has held that the Commonwealth’s Attorney can shift factual theories of a crime to convict two different people of the same crime. In 1987, the Commonwealth tried and convicted Lorenzo Williams of Rape and Murder.  The rape victim testified that he had raped her. In 2005, Governor Warner ordered all old cases with biological evidence be tested for DNA.  In 2010, such a test revealed that Mr. Williams was not

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