Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Governor Holton


The Roanoke Times today has a strong piece on Governor A. Linwood Holton, who was, by any measure one of the bravest politicians of the latter half of the twentieth century. Governor Holton took a strong stand against "massive resistance" to school integration, and led the state by example, sending his own kids to integrated Richmond City schools. He revivified the Republican party in Virginia in the process. And he came to Roanoke to practice law for twenty years while launching his political career.

Governor Holton has written a memoir, Opportunity Time, which was published earlier this year.

We are very pleased to announce that Governor Holton will be the speaker at our bar year-opening meeting on September 9. Thanks to President-Elect Roy Creasy for securing a wonderful speaker. We anticipate having the Governor's book for sale at the meeting.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Governor Kaine's Appointment Conundrum

This is a a very interesting article by Professor Tobias from Richmond Law School. Professor Tobias says that the General Assembly has "indicated that they will not commit in advance to supporting [Governor] Kaine's judicial choices," and he suggests that the Governor look to temporary appointments (drawn from law schools and the senior bar members) for the SCC opening, the unfilled Circuit court openings and the Supreme Court opening.

I have yet to see any speculation about the pending appointments and Governor Kaine's possible candidacy for Vice-President. (He is "very very high on the VP shortlist" as of this writing.) One would think that such political considerations could have an effect on how the Governor handles these appointments.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The Oliver Hill House

Today's Roanoke Times covers the re-zoning approval of the Oliver Hill House at 401 Gilmer Avenue SW. Mr. Hill (as you probably know) is Roanoke's most famous and revered native, a pioneering lawyer and "Renaissance Man of the civil rights movement." The Oliver White Hill Foundation purchased the childhood home of Mr. Hill a few years ago. The rezoned house (as the Times article explains) will contain a legal aid center, overseen by a new Washington and Lee graduate and staffed by law students. This Association is committed to help. Look for a bar luncheon program with foundation head Clarence M. Dunnaville, Jr., Esquire and W&L Dean Rod Smolla this fall.

If you want to know more before the fall contact W&L Assistant Dean Mary Z. Natkin.

Addendum: Right after typing this post I noticed that a new Capital Square monument featuring Mr. Hill was dedicated yesterday.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Facebook Picture Increases Sentence

Here's a story about a Providence RI drunk driving defendant who had some unfortunate photos posted on Facebook used against him in sentencing. In my civil practice, I am running across more and more twentysomethings who post pictures and blog entries that conflict with their testimony. A savvy attorney will keep an eye out for such evidence, and/or encourage their own clients to remove this sort of thing.

Friday, July 18, 2008

GPS can beat a radar gun

I thought this was interesting-- a telemetric GPS that generated a log was used to beat a radar gun-generated speeding ticket in a Santa Rosa, California Court. The hardware manufacturer is publicizing it. Here's a more detailed newspaper article that verifies the story. Note also that the unit was used by parents to perform surveillance on their kid.

A similar story played out last year when Martinsville Attorney Phil Gardner won a case with a motor vehicle crash data recorder. Here is his article on that topic.

Supreme Court Anticipation

Here's a good roundup of the nominees, their endorsements and their prospects from the Star City Harbinger.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Display Case




Late last week we found an antique oak display case on Craigslist and the Board approved its purchase for $300. It was a steal. We are going to set it up in the Courthouse, in either the atrium or the law library, and fill it with historical artifacts from the RBA.

Currently it is in the conference room. The cardboard on top is glass shelving. I will let you know when it is finally placed and ready for display.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Consider the Source

It is rare to see a discussion of the substantive merits of a Supreme Court decision in the op-ed columns of the Roanoke Times. The new Second Amendment decision, District of Columbia v. Heller, has spawned such a discussion. On July 6th the Roanoke Times published a column critical of the decision by Professor Erwin Chemerinsky. (Oddly, the article is no longer available on the RT website; here is a link from the LA Times. ) I don't know much about Chemerinsky's politics, but when I was in law school his treatise on Federal Jurisdiction was considered to be the finest, clearest and best piece of legal writing available anywhere. The book read like a novel, and not like Ulysses or Finnegan's Wake-- more like The Firm or The DaVinci Code. You could read it and know the material in a way that is rarely experienced by a lawyer or a student. Today the book is in its fifth edition and if you believe the Amazon reviews it is still excellent. The man is an incredibly gifted writer. Anyway, today's paper has the thoughts of Stephen Williams, "a rising sophomore at Patrick Henry College" on Professor Chemerinsky's column. Here is a link to his piece. Mr. Williams is to be commended for taking on one of the premier legal minds of his era; however, he may want to reconsider his "half-hearted chuckle" in light of Chemerinsky's qualifications.