supreme court of virginia

Article co-written by Andrew Gay, Jeff Southard, and Summer Associate Carter Leverette In early May, the Supreme Court of Virginia’s decision in Montalla, LLC v. Commonwealth, established some favorable legal precedent for contractors doing business with the Commonwealth of Virginia.[1] Specifically, the Court noted that the Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity cannot be used as a defense by the Commonwealth when a party brings a claim against it based upon a valid contract entered into by a duly authorized government agent.[2] Traditionally, the doctrine of sovereign immunity prevents parties from being able to sue federal or state governments when they are […]

I admit it. I am an appellate argument junkie. This has been a long-standing problem, but one that took on new dimensions when the Supreme Court of Virginia began releasing audio recordings of oral arguments about ten years ago. I then began listening to the Court’s arguments in earnest. Now, of course, the availability of audio recordings of appellate arguments is ubiquitous. This means that anyone can hear an appellate argument without their leaving the house, car, or office. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m hooked. So is this a good habit or a bad one? Because I […]

Having now had the privilege (or pain) of practicing criminal law in three different states, I can safely say that not all criminal discovery rules and practices are even remotely equal. In law school, we all read Brady and Giglio and know well that a criminal defendant is entitled to certain information, namely exculpatory and impeachment evidence. However, I am sure more than one state criminal practitioner has had a state court judge or prosecuting attorney look at them as if they are speaking Greek whenever either Brady or Giglio is mentioned, and unfortunately, more than once in this last […]

Published with the permission of the Virginia State Bar. Originally published in the Virginia Lawyer, Vol. 67/No. 3. The Supreme Court of Virginia has approved a pilot program for limited appellate mediation in the Court of Appeals of Virginia and Supreme Court of Virginia beginning January 1, 2019. The Court’s announcement recognizes the importance of expanding the availability of alternative dispute resolution to all levels of Virginia’s court system. The pilot program will run for two years. It is designed to support mediation in Virginia’s appellate courts so litigants may make informed decisions about resolution of their disputes and fashion […]

I. Introduction and Executive Summary On December 14, 2023, a legal earthquake hit Virginia when the Supreme Court of Virginia issued its decision in Vlaming v. West Point School Board, 895 S.E.2d 705 (Va. 2023).  But, to the extent there is a “legal” Richter scale, that earthquake has yet to register.  Headlines covering the decision noted the result dealing with a hot-button social issue: a teacher fired for refusing to use a student’s preferred pronouns on religious grounds could continue to pursue his case against the school board for alleged violations of constitutionally protected religious rights.  But that context has […]

My law professor once said that administrative law is “electrical engineering for lawyers.”  I did not fully appreciate what this meant, other than that it sounded complicated.  That was until I had the opportunity to spend years watching the regulatory and appellate process up-close.   I had the honor and privilege of coordinating review of Virginia’s regulatory process on behalf of the Virginia Governor.  As Deputy Counsel and then Counsel to Governor Terry McAuliffe, I reviewed more regulations than, I suspect, most any other lawyer in the state. More importantly, I saw the process work and not work.  And I watched […]

A New Path for Appellate Lawyers Last year, the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals of Virginia was expanded to offer aggrieved litigants in civil cases an automatic right of appeal. Va. Code § 17.1-405(A)(3).[1] That change offers opportunities for the Court to provide guidance to circuit courts and litigants in many areas of law that are unsettled, under-developed, or otherwise unclear. This is particularly true of corporate law under the Virginia Stock Corporation Act, an area in which decisions by the Supreme Court of Virginia have been few and far between over the past few decades, despite significant statutory […]