Our eighth week

Chris Graham

Column by Steve Landes Although there are just a few days remaining until the scheduled end of this year’s session of the Virginia General Assembly, events aren’t slowing down. This is the part of the session where delegates and senators meet to work out the final details on a wide range of legislation, and when…

Transportation shocker

Chris Graham

General Assembly Report column by Del. Ben Cline With the final week of the 2008 General Assembly session upon us, 100 delegates and 40 senators have begun to close up their Richmond offices and return to their homes, families, and communities to discuss the accomplishments of the past 60 days. But just as we began…

Is Virginia a step closer to nonpartisan redistricting?

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] He’s been down this road before. “It’s one of those situations where persistence pays off. This is an issue that I’ve worked on for a lot of years. It’s an issue where I’ve made very significant contributions. I picked up 10 more votes this year than I had last year…

The People v. Rick Krial: Staunton obscenity case has national attention

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] The subject isn’t evolution, and the barristers aren’t William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow. But the upcoming trial of a Staunton adult-video store owner on obscenity charges has some of that Scopes Monkey Trial flavor to it. Doesn’t it? I mean, on the one side, you have the fundamentalists who…

Robertson taking no prisoners in obscenity prosecution

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] “Inga.” It was the big to-do back in 1968 when it was released in America. “Filmed entirely in Sweden,” a snapshot on movietime.com relates, “‘Inga’ brims with a European sensuality and eroticism that shocked American audiences upon its release in 1968.” That about sums it up right there, doesn’t it?…

Cambria has been there before

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] He has represented Larry Flynt – which says most of what you need to know about the legal background of Paul Cambria. Let’s just say that he’s done this – defending someone standing accused on obscenity charges dealing with the production or sale of pornography – before. Which could explain…

Obscenity v. The First Amendment: Why the prosecution of X-rated films affects books

Chris Graham

Story by Matthew Warner What’s so horrible about porn other than the poor quality of most of it? And why should you care? ‘LITERARY OBSCENITY’ Watch out, you writers and purveyors of erotic horror and explicit romance. The folks here in my Bible Belt city of Staunton, Virginia, care quite a bit. Last summer, when…

West Virginia residents submit nearly two dozen documents in case against Valley P.I.

Chris Graham

Story by Lawrence Smith The West Virginia Record Looking more like what may be submitted for a case in circuit or the Supreme Court, the five residents with a pending case in Monongalia Magistrate Court against an alleged Virginia private investigator hope the 23 exhibits they recently submitted will convince the magistrate to keep the…

Attorney for Augusta man says claims vague, previously litigated

Chris Graham

Story by Lawrence Smith The West Virginia Record The lawsuit against an alleged Virginia private investigator should be dismissed because the state residents who’ve filed it against him have either failed to be specific in their claim or the issues have been addressed in other courts, says the man’s attorney.

Protecting the private-property rights of all Americans

AFP

Column by Bob Goodlatte Private ownership of property is vital to our freedom and our prosperity, and is a basic principle embedded in our constitution. However, a Supreme Court decision issued two years ago jeopardizes the protection of private property from government seizure guaranteed by the Constitution. The narrow 5-4 decision in the case of Kelo…