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Southwest Virginia Law Blog

Items of interest to lawyers in Southwest Virginia and beyond.
By Steven R. Minor

Post Frequency: 2.3/day

Last Entry: July 09, 2020 at 12:40:00

New magistrate judge to serve in Southwest Virginia

Posted on May 07, 2008
This order says that in recognition of the caseload coming out of the Cumberland Gap park, a magistrate judge shall be empowered to handle cases from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia - and it will be any full-time magistrate judge from the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Grad student's suit fails to pass

Posted on May 07, 2008
In Brown v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, Judge Moon granted the motion to dismiss from the defendants in a case filed by an ex-graduate student.And, it is a case study of the hurdles to stating a claim against a state school: (1) there is some talk about Bell Atlantic v...

He said it

Posted on May 05, 2008
"When Justice Agee is confirmed as a federal circuit judge, the Fourth Circuit will have fewer vacancies than at the end of the Clinton administration."Sen. Patrick Leahy, on the occasion of last week's Judiciary Committee hearing for Justice Agee's nomination to the Fourth Circuit...

Max and Gina

Posted on May 05, 2008
Max Lawson and his girlfriend Gina, who both have worked here off and on, have this website about their wedding, coming up next month.They mailed the invitations with postage bearing their photo and web address, made here.

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Chief Judge Jones rejects liberty interest claim

Posted on May 05, 2008
The Constitution protects against deprivations of life, liberty, and property without due process of law.Somewhere along the way came the notion that the concept of liberty includes freedom from being bad-mouthed by the government, but there's more to it than that, as evidenced by the ruling in April by Judge Jones in Etter v...

Voice of Cavaliers quits

Posted on May 01, 2008
This piece by Doug Doughty says that Mac McDonald has resigned.Maybe they will rehire Warren Swain away from the Ohio U. Bobcats.Oops, someone on the boards has already suggested this.

On Conrad and Matthews

Posted on April 30, 2008
It says here that Senators Spector and McConnell are trying to shame Chairman Leahy into scheduling hearings on Fourth Circuit nominees Conrad and Matthews.

Davis gets past committee

Posted on April 30, 2008
Mark S. Davis has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee for confirmation to a seat on the E.D. Va., according to this report, which says the other pending E.D. Va. nomination is still waiting action.

Rehearing in the spam case

Posted on April 30, 2008
It is reported in this Media General story that the Virginia Supreme Court has agreed to a rehearing in the case of the man convicted under the spam statute, the subject of a 4-3 decision by the Court.

Christiansburg lawyer indicted for forgery

Posted on April 30, 2008
The Roanoke paper has this article on the forgery indictment against attorney Gerard Raymond Marks.The article notes:"In September, Circuit Court Judge Joey Showalter issued an order indefinitely barring Marks from practicing in the 27th Circuit, which includes the counties of Bland, Carroll, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Montgomery, Pulaski and Wythe, and the city of Radford...

He said it

Posted on April 27, 2008
"I expect the Judiciary Committee and the Senate will proceed promptly to consider and confirm Justice Agee?s nomination with the support of Senator Warner and Senator Webb."Senator Leahy, April 3, 2008.

Justice Agee to the front of the line

Posted on April 25, 2008
Justice Agee's nomination now has a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee set for May 1, which has some Republicans complaining about the lack of hearings for those who were nominated before him.

Ah, the evil zombies

Posted on April 25, 2008
"The appointment of the receiver removed the wrongdoer from the scene. The corporations were no more Douglas's evil zombies. Freed from his spell they became entitled to the return of the moneys-for the benefit not of Douglas but of innocent investors-that Douglas had made the corporations divert to unauthorized purposes...

On Judge Farmer's position

Posted on April 25, 2008
Daniel Gilbert has this article about the legislature failure to fill the juvenile judgeship in the 29th district.As regards the prospect that the circuit court judges will reappoint Judge Farmer, Senator Puckett is quoted as saying, somewhat ominously, "The judges in the 29th Circuit could have an opportunity to reappoint him if they think I?ve made a bad judgment...

Three federal appeals court judges before Memorial Day?

Posted on April 24, 2008
This post and this post, among others, say there is a deal in the Senate to confirm three judges to the United States Courts of Appeals before Memorial Day, later this month.The unknown - which ones.

Sort of a Virginia book I got in Charlottesville

Posted on April 24, 2008
Playing with Wikipedia, I wrote the little article on a judge of the W.D. Va. named Alexander Rives, who was the brother of William Cabell Rives, who was the grandfather of Amelie Rives, whose marriage to John Armstrong Chanler is the subject of Archie and Amelie: Love and Madness in the Gilded Age, by Donna M...

The General Assembly has spoken

Posted on April 24, 2008
In Southwest Virginia, as someone told me a while back, Judge Pat Johnson got the circuit court job in the 29th circuit, Greg Matney from Tazewell County got the general district court job, and nobody got Judge Farmer's job on the juvenile court, which may mean that he gets to keep it until next year...

Virginia wins again

Posted on April 23, 2008
Today in Virginia v. Moore, the Commonwealth won before the United States Supreme Court. In an opinion by Justice Scalia, with Justice Ginsburg concurring separately in the judgment, the Supreme Court reversed the Virginia Supreme Court's decision in Moore v...

On ex parte contact with ex-employees

Posted on April 23, 2008
I read the opinion by Judge Kiser in Bryant v. Yorktowne Cabinetry, granting summary judgment in a Title VII case.The opinion referenced an earlier decision by Magistrate Judge Urbanski that I missed. In this earlier Bryant v. Yorktowne Cabinetry, Judge Urbanski denied the defendant's motion for an order prohibiting ex parte contact between the plaintiff and the defendant's former employees, distinguishing the earlier decision by Judge Sargent in Armsey v...

I saw an appeals court judge on the street today

Posted on April 22, 2008
She said, put that on your blog.And why not? That doesn't happen every day, or even every year.Last year, my wife saw this judge and her gang one afternoon, and she told me later that family was having more fun than anyone else at the Homestead that day...

On concealed weapon permits

Posted on April 21, 2008
This article in the Bristol paper makes it look like Judge Freeman is adding some extra-statutory factors in his disposition of concealed weapon permit cases in Smyth County.The article didn't say why the two guys over age 75 decided now was the time to get a permit...

Important decision for small business

Posted on April 21, 2008
In Jennings v. Kay Jennings Family Limited Partnership, issued last week, the Virginia Supreme Court took on for the first time the meaning of the requirements to bring a derivative action under Va. Code 50-73.62.That section says: "A limited partner may bring an action in the right of a limited partnership to recover a judgment in its favor to the same extent that a stockholder may bring an action for a derivative suit under the Stock Corporation Act, Chapter 9 (� 13...

Where's Waldo?

Posted on April 18, 2008
We're in Charlottesville this weekend, but didn't make it anywhere near the Rotunda, or wherever it is that Waldo Jaquith does his webmastering.Instead, we're roughing it out here at the Boar's Head, up from Birdwood.Years ago, I was playing golf with Scott Michaux at the newly-opened Birdwood course, when he made his first eagle on the second hole or whatever is the first par 5 alongside the lake, but he said the joy of the moment was somewhat dulled by the fact that I scored a 12...

Brownlee to resign

Posted on April 17, 2008
The Roanoke paper reports that John Brownlee is moving on from his position as U.S. Attorney. The article does not say what he plans to do next.

End the moratorium

Posted on April 16, 2008
The Supreme Court has ruled on the lethal injection case that has been holding up death penalty cases in Virginia and elsewhere, the opinion issued today in Baze v. Rees (argued on January 7) is here. And, the vote was 7-2, or maybe it was 2-1-2-1-1-2...

Not much going on here

Posted on April 14, 2008
I've got the trial coming up in June in the Buchanan County RICO case, and so it consumes much of my waking hours.But - I have written a few more Wikipedia entries. Some of them are on this partial list of delegates to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901-02...

The "coalfield" article in today's WSJ

Posted on April 14, 2008
I've seen a few articles like this one in other places. It begins: "The race for the Democratic nomination hinges on a handful of states where coal is still king," and goes on to make some point about the Virginia City power plant.

Stuff I think I know about summary judgment

Posted on April 04, 2008
I know this:"Corroboration is not required to defeat summary judgment. See, e.g., S.E.C. v. Phan, 500 F.3d 895, 909-10 (9th Cir. 2007) (district court erred on summary judgment by disregarding evidence that was ?uncorroborated and self-serving?); Shekoyan v...

Wise County Circuit Court opinion from April 1, 1991

Posted on April 04, 2008
Dear Counsel:This is a case of unique species,not stare decisis, but stare feces.The court had serious fun with these complex issues as it spoke,but this opinion, signed the first, is no April Fool joke.The court considered the entire record as a whole,and reviewed counsel arguments as they were told...

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