Sexual Battery Virginia Aggravated Cross Examine Lawyers Loudoun County
Sexual Battery Virginia Aggravated Cross Examine Lawyers Loudoun County
Thomas v. Commonwealth
Facts:
A jury convicted defendant of four counts of aggravated sexual battery. The Court of Appeals of Virginia affirmed. Defendant appealed.
Sexual Battery Virginia Aggravated Cross Examine Lawyers
Issue:
- Whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding that the denial of Defendant’s right to cross-examine his accuser was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt?
Discussion:
Defendant argued that he was improperly denied the right to cross-examine one of his accusers about a separate sexual molestation charge brought against a babysitter. Initially, the trial court sustained the Commonwealth’s objection based on the rape shield law. Later the trial court stated that its denial was also based on a second ground, that the fact that the babysitter was acquitted did not establish a “reasonable probability of falsity.” Defendant relied, in the trial court, only on the “access to justice” argument originally advanced, and did not object to the “false accusation” rationale. However, both defendant’s petition for appeal to the intermediate appellate court and his opening brief challenged only the “false accusation” rationale and abandoned the “access to justice” argument defendant relied on in the trial court.
The appellate court found that only those arguments presented in the petition for appeal and granted were to have been considered on appeal. An issue abandoned at trial may not have been resurrected on appeal, and an appellate court was not allowed to “recast” an argument made below into a different argument upon which to base its decision. The judgment of the intermediate appellate court was reversed. The case was remanded to the intermediate appellate court with direction to enter an order affirming the judgment of the trial court
The SRIS Law Group Virginia lawyers will do their best to help you with your sex crime case. Contact a Virginia lawyer from our firm to discuss your sex crime case. A Virginia lawyer from our firm will talk with you about your sex crime case in Virginia and advise you about your options. You can count on a lawyer from our firm to try their best to help you obtain the best result possible based on the facts of your case.
We have client meeting locations in Fairfax County, Prince William, Richmond, Virginia Beach, Fredericksburg & Lynchburg.
Article written by A Sris
Disclaimer:
These summaries are provided by the SRIS Law Group. They represent the firm’s unofficial views of the Justices’ opinions. The original opinions should be consulted for their authoritative content.
Rape Virginia Miranda Rights Suppress Motion Attorneys Carroll County
Rape Virginia Miranda Rights Suppress Motion Attorneys Carroll County
ESARE ZEKTAW v. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
Facts:
The defendant there was an arrest warrant for rape outstanding against him. He was read his Miranda rights and signed a written waiver of those rights. During questioning, he said, “I’d really like to talk to a lawyer because this–oh my God, oh, my Jesus, why?” He did not mention a lawyer again during the rest of the interview. The intermediate appellate court held his single reference to a lawyer was ambiguous and he did not clearly invoke his right to counsel. After the trial court denied defendant’s motion to suppress statements he made to police, he was convicted of rape, abduction, and assault and battery. He appealed; the Court of Appeals of Virginia affirmed defendant’s convictions and the denial of his motion to suppress. Defendant sought further review.
Rape Virginia Miranda Rights Suppress Motion Attorneys
Issue:
- Whether the trial Court properly dismisses the Appellant motion to Suppress?
Discussion:
This Court held that as defendant did not introduce any new evidence on his own behalf that was “of the same character” as the statements to which he objected, and his use of his statements was during his cross-examination of the detective, he did not waive his objection to the admissibility of the statements. Under an objective test, he had unambiguously invoked his right to counsel; therefore, the interrogation should have ended, and his subsequent statements were inadmissible. As it could not be said that his admissions to choking and knocking the alleged victim down before they had consensual sex did not contribute to his convictions or to the severity of his sentence, the error was not harmless. The judgment of the intermediate appellate court was reversed and the case was remanded to that court with direction to remand to the trial court for a new trial if the Commonwealth was so advised.
The SRIS Law Group Virginia lawyers will do their best to help you with your sex crime case. Contact a Virginia lawyer from our firm to discuss your sex crime case. A Virginia lawyer from our firm will talk with you about your sex crime case in Virginia and advise you about your options. You can count on a lawyer from our firm to try their best to help you obtain the best result possible based on the facts of your case.
We have client meeting locations in Fairfax County, Prince William, Richmond, Virginia Beach, Fredericksburg & Lynchburg.
Article written by A Sris
Disclaimer:
These summaries are provided by the SRIS Law Group. They represent the firm’s unofficial views of the Justices’ opinions. The original opinions should be consulted for their authoritative content.
