In the News

1) Virginia doesn't grant many geriatric paroles. (there's a shock for you)

2) Virginia Supreme Court in the News: A person can't be thrown out of a drug program and convicted without a hearing on his expulsion. Not sure how I feel on this one. As long as the plea agreement between the Commonwealth and the defendant remains in place (usually = complete program or get 6 months) I don't have too much of a problem with it. If a person was kicked out for something ridiculous like wearing purple socks, he should have a chance to complete the program. Of course, it won't be used that way. Every time some Yahoo gets dumped out of a program because he tested dirty 5 times or slugged a counselor he'll be in court arguing that the plea agreement is too harsh and some judges will violate the terms of the plea.

3) One of the many ways the Virginia General Assembly is considering balancing the budget is to raise filing fees, but not everybody's happy about it.

4) Who knew Starbucks was gun friendly? Of course, the nearest is two hours and two states away, so I shan't be testing this out any time soon.