courts | I'm Surrounded By Idiots

Nothing that would make people prejudicial there

From WTVR 6 in Richmond: Kaine: Vick Indictment Details “Will Make Your Blood Run Cold” [emphasis mine]:

Governor Tim Kaine has a few words about the federal dogfighting charges against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.

Vick is scheduled to be arraigned in Richmond federal court this afternoon.

In his monthly call-in show this morning on the Virginia News Network, Kaine called the allegations … quote … “an outrageous, outrageous offense if it’s true.”

The governor said some of the details in the federal indictment about the alleged killing of dogs … quote … “will make your blood run cold.” Federal prosecutors claim that Vick and three others accused in the case ran a dogfighting operation and killed dogs or had knowledge of their execution.

Kaine says he doesn’t have any sympathy for anyone who is convicted of such a crime.

He hasn’t been convicted yet, Governor.

Can you explain why an elected official, a Governor of a state, is making comments regarding an ongoing trial? An elected official that is a former lawyer no less.

When will he learn to keep his mouth shut?

Jury convicts suspect in highway patrolman’s death – even though the suspect was forty miles away.

From KSDK 5 in St. Louis [photo credit: Ibid]: Jury Convicts Suspect In Highway Patrolman’s Death [emphasis mine]:

If it hadn’t been for Massigh Stallman, Missouri Highway Patrol Trooper Ralph Tatoian would still be alive, and Stallman is responsible for his death, a jury has ruled.

In April of 2005, Trooper Tatoian was driving on Interstate 44 to the scene were police were looking for Stallman, a wooded area in Gasconade County. As he drove with his lights and siren on, he came over a hill near Pacific, and slammed into a tractor trailer. Trooper Tatoian was killed.

Meanwhile, more than 40 miles away in Gasconade County, police from several agencies continued the manhunt for Stallman. They eventually found him and arrested him.

The manhunt began after Stallman held up a convenience store, robbed a woman, and shot a Gasconade Sheriff’s Deputy. The deputy survived the shooting, and Stallman led police on a chase that ended along Highway 50, where Stallman ran into the woods. The jury also convicted Stallman of charges related to those crimes.

Stallman’s attorneys planned to appeal the conviction for second degree murder in Trooper Tatoian’s death, saying he should not be held responsible for the crash.

Stallman, 28, is from High Ridge. He now awaits sentencing, which could include life in prison.

As much as I would like to see this POS in prison for the less of his life, this is absurd. What next? Charging someone with that was pulled over with second degree murder if an officer is killer by another vehicle during a traffic stop?

For those unfamiliar with the definition of second degree murder, from Black’s Law Dictionary (Third Pocket Edition):

murder, n. The killing of a human being with malice aforethought.

second-degree murder. Murder that is not aggravated by any of the circumstances of first-degree murder.

Malice aforethought, you may ask?:

malice aforethought. The requisite mental state for common-law murder, encompassing any one of the following: (1) the intent to kill, (2) the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, (3) extremely reckless indifference to the value of human life (the so-called “abandoned and malignant heart”), or (4) the intent to commit a dangerous felony (which leads to culpability under the felony-murder rule).

(1) and (2) do not apply. Also, depraved-heart murder (3) should be noted:

depraved-heart murder. A murder resulting from an act so reckless and careless of the safety of others that it demonstrates the perpetrator’s complete lack of regard for human life.

An example of depraved-heart murder would be the firing of a rifle into an occupied building (doesn’t apply here).

For those wondering about felony-murder (4), depending on the definition of the statue in Missouri, it would still require proximate cause [emphasis mine]:

proximate cause. 2. A cause that directly produces an event and without which the event would not have occurred.

An accident forty (40) miles away from the suspect is not directly produced by the person.

Prediction: overturned on appear.

Hat tip: Overlawyered

I’m guessing the phrase “equal protection” doesn’t mean anything to you… Part 5

The Empire Strikes Back, or something, from The Washington Post: Va. Enacted Bad-Driver Fees Despite Red Flags [emphasis wholly mine]:

Virginia lawmakers imposed steep new fees on bad drivers this year despite warning signs from states with similar programs that they cause a surge in unlicensed motorists and have crippling effects on the poor.

The licenses of tens of thousands of motorists in New Jersey and Michigan have been suspended because they cannot afford the fees, and little evidence has emerged that such fines improve highway safety, according to state officials and studies.

Numerous lawmakers, judges and social activists in both states have sought to either repeal the fees or make major changes in how they are collected. But once the programs are implemented, they are difficult to get rid of, because state lawmakers are unwilling to give up the revenue they raise, judges and lawmakers said.

Which is why Kaine and those coward Republicans refuse to have a special session to do anything about them.

[…]

Lawmakers predicted that the measures, in effect since July 1, would improve highway safety and raise $65 million a year, to be used for new road and rail projects. On Monday, however, Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Prince William) joined a growing list of legislators calling for repeal, saying the measures are “beyond repair.”

But you were supporting them a couple weeks ago, are you saying you didn’t read the legislation you voted on, Mr. Lingamfelter?

At a news conference last week defending the fees, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) and House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) said they had no information to suggest that there were problems in states that use such fees.

Yeah, I bet, you weasels.

When Buhl heard that Virginia lawmakers were considering the fees last year, he e-mailed all 140 legislators, explaining why he thought the program was a failure in Michigan, which began assessing the fees in 2003. No one responded, Buhl said.

Officials in Michigan and New Jersey say Virginians should brace for problems, including clogged courts and the prospect of thousands of residents having to choose between keeping their licenses and paying their bills.

[…]

Under pressure to repeal the fees, the state [New Jersey] commissioned a study last year that found that although only 16 percent of residents live in low-income areas, those neighborhoods house nearly 40 percent of the people whose licenses have been suspended for failure to pay fees and fines.

[…]

Cathleen Lewis, a New Jersey motor vehicle agency spokeswoman, said there is no way to determine whether the fees “conclusively impact highway safety.”

In Michigan, traffic fatalities declined 12 percent from 2003 to 2005, compared with a 2.2 percent increase nationwide during that period, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A spokesman for the Michigan State Police said it is too early to tell whether the decline can be attributed to the fees.

[…]

In Virginia, Henry County Commonwealth’s Attorney Bob Bushnell said state prosecutors are bracing for similar problems.

“The way this thing works out, it is going to have an absolutely ruinous effect on financially challenged Virginians,” he said. “To my knowledge, no one from the police was consulted. We weren’t consulted. The court clerks weren’t consulted. Had it come up, I think the General Assembly would have been aware of all kinds of concerns from Virginians about the unanticipated downside to this program.”

Well, it’s nice to see the Republicans are going to lose the General Assembly this year (note the sarcasm). However, it might be worth it since Kaine has just Gilmored himself.

Hat tip: Overlawyered

Sticks and stones may break my bones…

But words will never hurt me, unless a nut hunts you down and burns your trailer down because you called him a “nerd”, from the AP via Fredericksburg.com [photo credit: Ibid]: “Nerd” comment set off former Dahlgen [sic] worker:

A Navy man who got mad when someone mocked him as a “nerd” over the Internet climbed into his car and drove 1,300 miles from Virginia to Texas to teach the other guy a lesson.

As he made his way toward Texas, Fire Controlman 2nd Class Petty Officer Russell Tavares posted photos online showing the welcome signs at several states’ borders, as if to prove to his Internet friends that he meant business.

When he finally arrived, Tavares burned the guy’s trailer down.

This week, Tavares, 27, was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading no contest to arson and admitting he set the blaze.

“I didn’t think anybody was stupid enough to try to kill anybody over an Internet fight,” said John G. Anderson, 59, who suffered smoke inhalation while trying to put out the 2005 blaze that caused $50,000 in damage to his trailer and computer equipment.

The feud started when Anderson, who runs a haunted house near Waco, joined a picture-sharing Web site and posted his artwork and political views. After he blocked some people from his page because of insults and foul language, they retaliated by making obscene digitally altered pictures of him, he said.

Anderson, who went by the screen name “Johnny Darkness,” traded barbs with Tavares, aka “PyroDice.”

Investigators say Tavares boiled over when Anderson called him a nerd and posted a digitally altered photo making Tavares look like a skinny boy in high-water pants, holding a gun and a laptop under a “Revenge of the Nerds” sign.

Tavares obtained Anderson’s real name and hometown from Anderson’s Web page about his Museum of Horrors Haunted House.

Tavares took leave from his post as a weapons systems operator at the AEGIS Training and Readiness Center in Dahlgren, Va., and started driving. Investigators say he told them he planned to point a shotgun at Anderson and shoot his computer.

Instead, when he got to Elm Mott – after posting one last photo of a “Welcome to Texas” sign – Tavares threw a piece of gasoline-soaked plastic foam into the back of Anderson’s mobile home and lit a flare, authorities say.

Tavares’ attorney, Susan Kelly Johnston, said his trip to the Waco area was a last-minute decision during a cross-country trip to visit his parents in Arizona. She said he never intended to hurt Anderson and did not think he was in the trailer when he set the fire.

James Pack, an investigator with the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office, caught up with Tavares after talking to people in several states and Spain who had been involved in the online feud. Tavares’ cell phone records showed he was in the Waco area at the time of the fire, Pack said.

Tavares told investigators that Anderson had spread computer viruses and insulted his online friends for too long, Pack said.

“He lost everything _ all over an Internet squabble,” the investigator said.

Tavares was discharged last year from the Navy, where he earned several medals – including the pistol expert and rifle expert medals – in his nine-year career, said Navy spokesman Mike McLellan.

Tavares would not let the feud go even at his sentencing. According to Pack, Tavares took cell-phone photos of Anderson in the courtroom while the judge was hearing another case. Authorities ordered the photos erased.

Anderson, an ex-Marine who served in Vietnam, said he continues to be harassed online, has been startled by people knocking on his window late at night and found bullet holes in a door to his business.

He said he is convinced the harassment is related to the Internet feud and plans to spend $30,000 on more fencing topped with barbed wire.

“Before this happened, the rule was: Nobody messes with the haunted house guy,” Anderson said.

What a nut, hell just look at his picture. Would you piss someone off that looked like that?

The use of arson was ironic considering his Internet alias was “PyroDice”. At least he didn’t use those expert pistol and rifle medals.

Ever heard of checking the Code of Virginia before charging someone?

From Fredericksburg.com: Bouncer cleared of Taser use charges:

Charges against a bouncer accused of using a Taser on an unruly patron were dropped Tuesday in Fredericksburg General District Court.

Richard A. Sullivan, 24, of Stafford County was charged in May with carrying a concealed weapon and discharging a firearm within a building. The latter charge is a Class 6 felony.

City prosecutor Andy Cornick determined that Sullivan had been improperly charged after a more thorough review of a state law.

Cornick said it is not technically illegal to conceal a Taser unless you are a convicted felon, which Sullivan is not.

He also said that the Taser does not qualify as a firearm under the felony statute Sullivan was charged under.

According to city police, Sullivan was working as a bouncer at Buffalo Wild Wings in Central Park early May 19 when he became involved in an altercation with two Marines.

During the incident, police said, a Taser was used on one of the Marines.

Later that morning, police said, Sullivan encountered the two Marines he’d kicked out of the club at a nearby Wawa. This time, Sullivan was assaulted.

During the investigation, police learned about the Taser and filed charges the next day.

What next? Arresting a homeowner that shoots a burglar? Charging someone with “discharging a gun in an occupied building” requires the discharge to be unlawful, if there was any evidence of unlawfulness why wasn’t he (Sullivan) charged with assault and battery? Why is it, that the names of the Marines are not released if they later assaulted him at a Wawa? Why is it, that the one that was innocent of all charges is named and has his name dragged through the mud?

I’m guessing the phrase “equal protection” doesn’t mean anything to you… Part 4

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch: Henrico judge to rule on driving-offense fees:

A Henrico judge said he will issue an opinion next Thursday on whether the state’s new fee system for traffic infractions should be found unconstitutional.

In an unusual proceeding that lasted almost an hour, Henrico General District Judge Archer L. Yeatts III said he will decide in a written opinion whether a 23-year-old Henrico man facing his fifth offense for driving without a license should be subject to some $700 in fees in addition to court costs and fines.

Anthony O. Price pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge today and Yeatts found him guilty. But Yeatts said he wants more time to mull over arguments in the case about the fees.

The fee structure, which went into effect July 1, is expected to pump some $60 million into state highway funds. But the fees do not apply to out-of-state drivers. Price’s lawyers argue that the law is in violation of equal-protection guarantees in the Constitution.

“There’s no reason why out-of-state drivers should be any less subject to the fees than Virginia drivers,” said Esther Windmueller, one of Price’s lawyers.

Windmueller said multiple opinions are likely on the issue from courts across Virginia as the fees begin to come into play in court proceedings.

Resolution will have to come from the General Assembly or state Supreme Court, meaning that thousands off drivers likely will have to pay the fees before it is clear they are legal.

The saga continues…

I’m guessing the phrase “equal protection” doesn’t mean anything to you… Part 3

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch: Big fines for bad drivers tested:

A courtroom assault yesterday on the state’s new fees for traffic offenses fizzled in a cloud of legal briefs and a no-show.

After a Henrico County judge politely said he didn’t have the authority to address the issue, a Henrico man portrayed as a test case to overthrow the civil remedial fees failed to show up for his court appearance.

“Is Anthony Price here? Anthony Price?” defense lawyer Esther Windmueller asked unsuccessfully, scanning a General District courtroom.

General District Judge Archer L. Yeatts III, who had less than an hour earlier refused to rule on the constitutional merits of the fees, rescheduled Price’s case for Aug. 23 and moved on to a reckless driving case.

That left Windmueller suggesting to reporters that she might have to troll the hallways of the Henrico Courts building for a new plaintiff.

[…]

The fees, passed by the legislature this year, are intended to generate more than $60 million toward state road funds. So far they have mostly generated fever-pitch public opposition — in large part because out-of-state drivers aren’t subject to the ramped-up fines.

[…]

In Richmond traffic court yesterday morning, clerks were marveling at the city’s first instance of a traffic offense that invoked the costly fee structure.

A July 1, noontime stop on Lee Bridge had produced charges of reckless driving and no valid driver’s license for a man court papers identified as Rolando Reyes.

“This was our first one,” said Irving C. Wright, clerk of the Richmond General District Court’s traffic division.

Yesterday, Reyes saw the reckless driving charge reduced to speeding but saw his costs explode.

Instead of being limited to fines and court costs of $317, Reyes had to pay $617 with the addition of the new $300 penalty fee.

And he’ll owe $600 more in coming months in two $300 installments, bringing the total to $1,217.

Had Reyes not had the reckless driving charge reduced, he could have been looking at a total of more than $2,200.

[…]

Besides the fact that out-of-state offenders don’t face the extra penalties, critics say, the fees most severely affect low-income traffic offenders, and collection efforts are expected to clog the courts and increase the number of cumbersome cases that involve defense lawyers.

“People will get lawyers hoping they can reduce the charges,” said Henrico General District Court Clerk Lawrence G. Sprader.

The state attorney general’s office argued to Yeatts yesterday that only a higher court can block the fees. Yeatts agreed, saying that a legal theory of seeking to bar the clerk’s office from collecting the fees is improper.

“The judge imposes the fee,” said Yeatts, noting that the judges control the actions of the clerk.

Windmueller said she and co-counsel Craig S. Cooley will likely take the case to the higher court, the county’s Circuit Court, before the end of the week. Traffic cases from the lower court that are subject to the fees are likely to reach circuit courts across the state, also, as the cases are appealed. That would produce scores of opportunities to challenge the law, lawyers familiar with traffic cases said yesterday.

[…]

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has said he favors waiting for the regular session in January to make the fee structure more equitable.

If there’s a problem Governor, why wait?

Again, from the Richmond Times-Dispatch [photo credit: Virginia House of Delegates]: Delegate does U-turn, now opposes high fees:

Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Prince William, now says he opposes increased fees on bad drivers.

Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Prince William, who 12 days ago defended unsafe-driver fees, now says they should be repealed.

[…]

Lingamfelter declined to say whether the General Assembly should be called back into special session to repeal the bill. That is up to the leadership, he said, but if he came back to Richmond, he would vote for repeal.

Lingamfelter said the bill is “at best complicated.” It also should apply to all drivers, not just Virginians, he added. In addition, he said the fees should be focussed [sic] on curbing bad driving, not on repairing roads.

Twelve days ago, Lingamfelter wrote an op-ed article in which he defended the fees, saying only reckless drivers should be disturbed by them.

The House Democratic Caucus issued a news release yesterday calling Lingamfelter “flip-flop Scott.”

“He saw his support for the abusive-driving tax that exempts out-of-state drivers as hurting him politically, so he put political expediency above principle,” caucus spokesman Mark Bergman said.

A Democrat, William Day of Prince William, is opposing Lingamfelter in November.

Lingamfelter said “real leaders listen, learn and act. They do not name-call, which is what the Democrats do.”

So you admit you’re not a “real leader”? You appear to have listened and learned but where is your act? You’re sitting on your fat ass complaining. Why do you refuse to call for a special session? If there’s a problem Delegate, why wait?

Again, from the Richmond Times-Dispatch: Driver fees about to be tested in court:

An effort to stop Virginia’s new special fees for traffic offenses great and small will get another day in a Henrico County court this morning. Anthony Price has been found.

A legal team had said Tuesday that Price would serve as an important test case to overthrow the fees as unconstitutional. But Price, who lives in Henrico, didn’t show up for court. That left his lawyers, a judge, and a gaggle of media with no case, no ruling and no story.

But Price, located yesterday by a Times-Dispatch reporter, said that he believed his court date was today and he was unaware that a high-powered legal team was ready to defend him.

“Who?” Price said yesterday when asked if he’d been contacted by prominent trial lawyers Craig S. Cooley and Esther Windmueller.

Windmueller said her efforts to contact Price about court dates and her representation likely got lost in the mail.

[…]

Price got in touch with the lawyers yesterday, and Windmueller said he would appear at a General District Court hearing this morning.

Price is facing his fifth charge of driving on a suspended license. If convicted today, he faces $750 in penalty fees in addition to fines and court costs. He referred questions about his driving history to his lawyers.

But Price’s conviction, which his lawyers said they would appeal, would set in motion an effort to end the fees statewide.

A Henrico General District Court judge on Tuesday refused to consider legal arguments that the fees were unconstitutional because the motions were brought before the court independent of a defendant being charged with one of the offenses.

But Price does face a traffic charge affected by the new fees. If the judge rules that the fees are unconstitutional, the ruling will likely be appealed by the state.

The special fees went into effect July 1 and are just beginning to reach traffic courts. They apply to dozens of traffic infractions, from manslaughter to a failed turn signal. They have outraged tens of thousands of drivers.

[…]

A key constitutional issue centers on the fact that the higher fees do not apply to out-of-state drivers, even when they commit the same driving offenses as a Virginian.

One lawyer said yesterday that she would raise the argument that a person from another country, whether in Virginia illegally or on a visa, should not have to pay the fee, either.

The fees range from $3,000 for more-serious crimes such as vehicular manslaughter and felony unauthorized use of a motor vehicle to $900 for having below-standard tires or failing to wear a seat belt while operating a school bus, according to guidelines published by the state Supreme Court.

For now I give a reprieve for lawyers.

Justice in Caroline? Nope, just nolle prosequis. Part 2 AKA Latney fiddles while Caroline burns…

See previous article.

I previously quoted this week’s edition of The Caroline Progress regarding the various nolle prosequis [Latin for “not to wish to prosecute”] by Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey Latney, Jr., Esq., well it gets even better when you check out the background of the people that Mr. Latney, Esq., wishes not to prosecute (nolle prosequi by Latney in italics, felonies in bold [note: this is just Caroline County, Virginia unless otherwise noted {photo credit: Caroline County Sheriff’s Office and Delaware Criminal Justice Information System – Online Wanted Person Review}]):

Eric Childs:
- July 10, 2007:
  - Pleaded guilty – Distribution of cocaine.
  - Pleaded guilty – Distribution of cocaine.
  - Nolle prosequi – Distribution of cocaine.
  - Nolle prosequi – Distribution of cocaine.
- March 26, 2006:
  - Guilty – Possession/distribution of controlled paraphernalia.
- February 8, 2006:
  - Guilty in absentia – Drunk in public.
- May 27, 2005:
  - Guilty – Petit larceny.
- May 31, 1998:
  - Guilty in absentia – Drunk in public.
Paul Ferguson:
- August 24, 2007:
  - Pending – Failure to appear on felony charge.
  - Pending – Possession of cocaine.
  - Pending – Driving on suspended.
- July 10, 2007:
  - Nolle prosequi – Credit card fraud.
- April 6, 2007:
  - Guilty – Failure to appear on felony charge.
  - Guilty – Driving on suspended.
  - Guilty – Seat belt violation.
- February 2, 2007:
  - Guilty in absentia – Driving under revoked/suspended license.
  - Guilty in absentia – Failure to appear on driving suspended.
  - Guilty in absentia – Safety beat violation.
- July 19, 2006:
  - Guilty in absentia – Expired state inspection.
  - Guilty in absentia – Seat belt violation.
  - Guilty in absentia – No operation license in possession.
- June 25, 2003:
  - Prepaid – 62/45 speeding.
- July 3, 2002:
  - Prepaid – 74/55 speeding.
Saleem Stevens:
- July 10, 2007:
  - Nolle Prosequi – Possession of a controlled substance.
- June 24, 2005:
  - Nolle prosequi – Possession of Schedule I/II drugs.
  - Nolle prosequi – Distribution of Schedule I/II drugs.
  - Nolle prosequi – Possession of a controlled substance.
  - Nolle prosequi – Conspiracy to violate drug act.
  - Nolle prosequi – Possession of substance with firearm.
  - Nolle prosequi – Possession of cocaine.
  - Nolle prosequi – Possession of ecstacy [sic].
  - Nolle prosequi – Possession of heroin.
  - Nolle prosequi – Possession of marijuana.
Edward Pinkney:
- July 13, 2007:
  - Guilty – Trespass after forbidden.
  - Nolle prosequi – Grand larceny.
- January 5, 1994:
  - Sentence/Probation revoked – Show cause.
- May 26, 1993:
  - Guilty – Possession of cocaine.
Donald Grabenstein:
- July 13, 2007:
  - Nolle prosequi – Assault and battery.
- January 19, 2005, District Court for Baltimore County, Maryland:
  - Guilty – Assault, second degree.
  - Guilty – Disorderly conduct.
- June 29, 2004, District Court for Baltimore City, Maryland:
  - Guilty – Controlled dangerous substance: Possession – not marihuana [sic].
Ernest Deviers:
- July 13, 2007:
  - Nolle prosequi – Assault and battery.
- October 19, 2005 in Stafford County, Virginia:
  - Guilty – Criminal non-support.
- December 6, 2001 in Stafford County, Virginia:
  - Guilty in absentia – Bad check $34.16.
- July 31, 2001 in Fredericksburg, Virginia:
  - Guilty – Failure to appear for trial.
  - Guilty – Bad check $89.88.
- February 27, 1998 in Stafford County, Virginia:
  - Guilty – Habitual offender violation.
- September 30, 1997 in Stafford County, Virginia:
  - Guilty in absentia – Invalid boat registration.
  - Guilty in absentia – Operation boat without proper.
- April 19, 1993 in Stafford County, Virginia:
  - Driving while suspended after driving while intoxicated.
- Has warrants out for him in two states:
  - Delaware:
    - Capias / Failure to appear – capias return/civil contempt of court.
    - Warrant failure to appear / failure to stop at a stop sign – warrant failure to appear / driving while suspended or revoked.
    - Capias failure to pay / driving while suspended or revoked.
  - Maryland:
    - Failure to appear – Driving while intoxicated, under the influence of alcohol or drugs or drugs & alcohol or controlled dangerous substance.
    - Failure to appear – Person driving motor vehicle on suspended out of state license.

Sources:

And this guy was president of an university?

See Previous Article.

From Fredericksburg.com: Report: Frawley drank cough syrup:

Former University of Mary Washington President William Frawley told a police officer he had consumed six bottles of cough medicine on the day of his April 11 arrest in Fredericksburg, court documents show.

The officer also smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage, the police report states.

Frawley, 53, was charged in the city with driving under the influence and refusing a Breathalyzer test. He had been charged the previous day in Fairfax County with driving while intoxicated after flipping a vehicle owned by the UMW Foundation.

UMW’s board of visitors fired him “for cause” at the end of April. His trial in Fredericksburg General District Court had been scheduled for yesterday but was pushed back until Sept. 18.

He’s scheduled to appear in Fairfax General District Court on Sept. 21.

Fredericksburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Charles Sharp said prosecutors requested the delay because they’re still awaiting Frawley’s blood test results subpoenaed from Mary Washington Hospital.

You have to laugh when a newspaper gets a headline that incorrect. It should be something around the lines of “Frawley claims he drank cough syrup” and not a statement of fact that he did in fact drink cough syrup. And even if he was in fact under the influence of cough syrup he would still be guilty of driving under the influence, from Code of Virginia § 18.2-266 [emphasis mine]:

It shall be unlawful for any person to drive or operate any motor vehicle, engine or train […] while such person is under the influence of any narcotic drug or any other self-administered intoxicant or drug of whatsoever nature, or any combination of such drugs, to a degree which impairs his ability to drive or operate any motor vehicle, engine or train safely.

Criminal Complaint:

UPDATE 8:48 PM: They have now changed the headline after I left a comment.

Hmm…obviously an ongoing plot by Big Tobacco to advertise to kids…

From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Study: Anti-smoking ads have opposite effect on teens:

The more exposure middle school students have to anti-smoking ads, the more likely they are to smoke, according to a new University of Georgia study.

Hye-Jin Paek, an assistant professor at UGA, found that many anti-smoking ad campaigns have the opposite effect on teenagers, backfiring because they actually encourage the rebellious nature of youth.

“They don’t want to hear what they should do or not do,” Paek said. Instead, she said, ads should focus on convincing teens their friends are heeding the anti-smoking warning because peer pressure has the most direct effect.

Paek and co-author Albert Gunther from the University of Wisconsin-Madison examined surveys from 1,700 middle school students about their exposure to anti-smoking ads and their intention to smoke. The study will be published in the August issue of the journal “Communication Research.”

The study is the latest in a string of research showing that anti-smoking campaigns often have ad little to no impact on teens. In 2002, a study commissioned by an anti-smoking foundation found tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris’ youth anti-smoking campaign was making students more likely to smoke.

Paek said the data showed middle school students are more like to be influenced by the perception of what their friends are doing, and that anti-smoking campaigns should be more focused on peer relations.

“Rather than saying, ‘don’t smoke,’ it is better to say, “your friends are listening to this message and not smoking,” she said. “It doesn’t really matter what their peers are actually doing.”

Hmm…obviously an ongoing plot by Big Tobacco to advertise to kids. That court settlement is looking better and better everyday.