Judicial Council of Virginia Publishes Report from Appellate Rules Advisory Committee for Comment

Earlier this week, the Judicial Council of Virginia published a June 2008 report from the Appellate Rules Advisory Committee for comment. (See here for additional information on the Committee and the comment process.)

The Committee, chaired by Justice Lemons, suggested a number of amendments to the rules, including amendments addressing the procedure for filing an appeal, perfecting an appeal, and other procedural matters. The revisions also explicitly permit the citation of unpublished cases as persuasive authority. (Notably, if the opinion is "not available in a publicly accessible electronic database," a copy must be submitted with the brief/motion that is being filed).

Also of note is a new rule suggested by the Committee, Rule 5:1A. According to the Committee,

This is a new rule that states the Court may dismiss an appeal or impose
any other appropriate penalty for failure to comply with the rules. It also
gives the Court the ability to issue a show cause order at its discretion
and allow the party an opportunity to cure the defect in situations that do
not involve the violation of a mandatory filing deadline. Additionally the
rule states that if an attorney’s failure to comply with the rules results
in a dismissal, the Court may report the attorney to the Virginia State Bar.
The Committee wanted to make the public, and the legal community,
aware that the Court does report attorneys to the Bar when their failure to
comply with the rules results in a dismissal of an appeal. The Committee
also wanted to put into writing the show cause option so that the Court has
the option to allow a party to cure a procedural defect.

Stay tuned to see if these changes are enacted.