Almost 50 years ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in a short, six paragraph opinion, ruled that pro se parties, those without lawyers, are entitled to “notice sufficiently understandable to [the pro se...more
The Supreme Court of Virginia taught appellate practitioners yet another hard lesson in how procedural pitfalls can scuttle otherwise compelling appeals. In Eckard v. Commonwealth, the pitfall was failing to get the complete...more
Last month, in Snyder v. United States, the Supreme Court of the United States narrowly construed the federal anti-bribery statute. In that case, the mayor of Portage, Indiana worked with other officials to carefully prepare...more
7/2/2024
/ Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Fraud ,
Illegal Gratuities ,
Mayors ,
Public Bidding ,
Public Corruption ,
Public Officials ,
Public Servants ,
SCOTUS ,
Snyder v United States ,
Undue Influence Claims ,
Virginia
“A deadline means what it says,” is a simple enough concept. But it’s not always true....more
In Eberhardt v. Commonwealth, the Virginia Court of Appeals took up a case from Dinwiddie involving child cruelty. The case concluded, unsurprisingly, that the Commonwealth had sufficiently proven the appellant was guilty....more
On March 16, 2020, the Supreme Court entered the first of numerous orders declaring a judicial emergency as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The statutory authority that permits the Court to declare an emergency requires...more