John S. Koehler
Oct 20, 20243 min read
Battle over Confederate Monuments takes a Macabre Turn and other Recent Decision of the Court of Appeals
Elwood Lewis Thomas v. Commonwealth of Virginia started life on March 12, 2024 as an unpublished decision , and the link on the Court’s...
John S. Koehler
Oct 19, 20244 min read
Long Time no See.
There has been a significant increase in the number of opinions from the Court of Appeals of Virginia over the last month, yet nary a...
John S. Koehler
Sep 12, 20245 min read
When the Happiest Duty is instead the Most Difficult Decision
The judicial department comes home in its effects to every man's fireside. It passes on his property, his reputation, his life, his all....
John S. Koehler
Sep 4, 20248 min read
Three New Opinions From the Court of Appeals and an Anecdote for those who Know the Meaning of the Word Prurient.
The Court of Appeals released three published opinions today. Two are from criminal cases and the third involves the jurisdiction of...
John S. Koehler
Aug 28, 20248 min read
Dog Days of Summer Slows the Flow of Opinions
The Court of Appeals has issued only three opinions in the last two weeks. Perhaps the heat of the Dog Days has caused a bought of...
John S. Koehler
Aug 15, 202412 min read
Two weeks worth of Court of Appeals Opinions
Your humble correspondent took a week off from summarizing due to the press of other business and then on Sunday last to recognize the...
John S. Koehler
Aug 1, 202410 min read
The Blawgosphere Groweths as Does the Output of the Court of Appeals
Rachel Yates, who like your humble correspondent cut her teeth on the law in government service, has come over to the dark side and...
John S. Koehler
Jul 24, 20249 min read
Latest Decisions of the Court of Appeals Include Discussions of Jurisdiction Over Prisoners, Powers of Trustees and Attorneys-in-Fact, and Forfeiture of Property to the Commonwealth
The Court of Appeals issues three opinions today and all, to one degree or another, deal with extraordinary powers of judges,...
John S. Koehler
Jul 20, 20249 min read
An En Banc Decision and Three New Panel Decisions -- including a Separation of Church and State Case (but not the kind likely to make headlines) and a 4-in-1 Decision that Might
The list of cases decided by the Court of Appeals this week is impressive -- seven summary paragraphs. However, the number of cases...
John S. Koehler
Jul 10, 20246 min read
One Published Opinion from Before the 4th of July, and None the Week After, but an Unpub Sure to Make Headlines
Your humble correspondent took a lengthy 4th of July weekend and so must play catch-up on reporting on the recent output of the Virginia...
John S. Koehler
Jun 26, 20242 min read
Court of Appeals Grants Writ of Actual Innocence
In Marvin Leon Grimm, Jr., v. Commonwealth of Virginia the Court of Appeals grants a writ of actual innocence. Grimm’s claim of innocence...
John S. Koehler
Jun 26, 202410 min read
The Heat is On . . . an These Opinions are Hot off the Press as are some Rule Changes from the Supreme Court
The near record heat of the last week must have lit a fire under the Judges of the Court of Appeals, as we have five new published...
John S. Koehler
Jun 12, 20245 min read
When a County Sues a City . . . Can't Keep their Minds on Nothin' Else
Ok, so maybe Percy Sledge's version was better (actually, credit were credit is due, band members Calvin Lewis was the lyricist and...
John S. Koehler
Jun 11, 20248 min read
Slow Times at the Court of Appeals?
Well, perhaps not as slow as at the Supreme Court of Virginia -- check out the latest comments on the low volume on the Ninth Street Side...
John S. Koehler
May 15, 20248 min read
Six opinions from May 7, 2024
The Court of Appeals started the month of May off strong with six published opinions, on of which was a rehearing en banc. The rehearing...
John S. Koehler
May 9, 20246 min read
Last two opinions of April -- Are Tort Claims by Former Prisoners Subject to Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies and Some Folks Just Don't Like Paying Debts
The last day of April saw two new published opinions for the Court of Appeals. Dawn Lewis Williams v. Commonwealth of Virginia is not,...
John S. Koehler
Apr 28, 202410 min read
Four published opinions from the Court of Appeals, but first a word a about an unpublished one
The Court of Appeals issued just four published opinion over the last three weeks -- as many as were released on April 2 of this year....
John S. Koehler
Mar 25, 20247 min read
The NCAA will have its Final Four in a few weeks . . . here is the Appellate Lawyer's Blog's Final Four of the Opinions Backlog
March 12, 2024 saw four published opinions from the Court of Appeals, and as no published opinions where handed down this week, we have...
John S. Koehler
Mar 24, 20242 min read
Some High Powered Appellate Attorneys were Involved in the one Published Decision Handed Down on March 5, 2024
There was only one published decision from the Court of Appeals on March 5, 2024, but Dennis Christopher Howard v. Sheriff Roger L....
John S. Koehler
Mar 24, 20246 min read
Taking a break from issuing criminal decisions the prior week, the Court of Appeals issued three new published three criminal opinions along with a zoning case on February 27, 2024
Before getting to the opinions released on February 27, 2024, a brief note about Terence Jerome Richardson, s/k/a Terrence Jerome...