Insights
Enhanced Penalties for Certain Drug Offenses
Earlier this month D.C. voters passed Ballot Initiative 71, legalizing personal use and home cultivation of marijuana. In January, Congress will evaluate the bill as it does for all new D.C. laws. If Congress does not object, the new rules could go into effect early...
Marijuana in Washington, D.C., and Virginia
At the polls on November 4, D.C. residents will decide whether to legalize marijuana use in the District. Initiative 71, as it is known, would legalize the possession of up to two ounces of marijuana for personal use. It would also permit D.C. residents to grow up to...
Virginia Uncontested Divorces and Separation Agreements
The Law Office is expanding its practice areas to include Virginia uncontested divorces and separation agreements. Virginia residents and servicemembers or spouses stationed in Virginia should contact the Law Office to discuss any separation and divorce issues that...
The Military’s Role in Civilian Investigations
The Ninth Circuit recently published an interesting opinion highlighting the increasing role military investigators play in some civilian prosecutions. In United States v. Dreyer, the appellate court held that military investigators violated Posse Comitatus by...
Check before you fire your employee
For most small businesses the hiring and firing processes bring some of the business’s trickiest and most important moments. On the one hand, hiring an employee, while bringing legal responsibility and potential legal liability, is a positive sign of growth and...
Military-Spouse Attorneys Gain Opportunity for Provisional Admission in Virginia
As a belated update to this post, the Supreme Court of Virginia recently adopted Rule 1A:8, which provides provisional admission to military-spouse attorneys who meet specified criteria. The Rule is designed to ease the transition for attorneys who move to Virginia...
Fourth Amendment and No-Fly List Developments
In previous posts, I discussed recent developments in Fourth Amendment jurisprudence (see, e.g, here, and here) and the due process and liberty interests related to the No-Fly List (see here). Over the last two days the Supreme Court and a federal judge in Oregon...
Defendant Asks for Relief After USMC Searches Defense Counsel Offices
Following an unusual CID search of military defense counsel offices in Camp Pendleton, CA, earlier this month, the Marine Corps launched an independent review to determine whether the search was appropriate and whether it compromised other defense cases that were...