The Library

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 […]

A doctor’s negligence can have devastating and life-altering effects on a patient. A slip of the knife, a missed diagnosis, an unreasonable delay in treatment: All of these can lead to catastrophe. Many times, a patient’s only recourse after an encounter with a negligent healthcare provider is the Civil Justice system and a lawsuit to recover those damages caused by that provider with experienced medical malpractice attorneys. Although a suit for medical malpractice is just a more specific and specialized claim of negligence, Virginia law places a number of guardians at the gates of the courthouse, in an attempt to […]

Plaintiff personal injury clients are different than other types of clients because their Virginia personal injury case is generally their first interaction with the civil legal system. Clients sometimes have an expectation that the process moves fast. Television shows, like Suits and Law & Order, may be to blame for such an expectation. Unfortunately, this expectation is mistaken—the legal process is quite slow. It can take anywhere from weeks to several years to resolve a Virginia personal injury case. This can be especially difficult for a plaintiff who is the victim of a trucking collision, motor vehicle collision, slip-and-fall accident, […]

The long-awaited amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 702 took effect across federal courts on December 1, 2023.  Companies and individuals whose trial and settlement outcomes come down to expert witness testimony should pay close attention to the growing body of caselaw defining the import of these amendments. Rule 702 provides a key tool for litigants to keep “junk science” out of trial, and imposes on courts an important “gatekeeping” responsibility to exclude any expert opinions that lack sufficiently reliable methodologies.  Although “[n]othing in the amendment[s] imposes any new, specific procedures” to the rule, the Advisory Committee’s comments strengthen the […]

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 […]