TWO NEW EN BANC OPINIONS FROM CAV

On Tuesday, June 14, 2005, the Court of Appeals handed down two en banc opinions in criminal cases. The court affirms the conviction of a woman for murdering her husband in Orndorff v. Commonwealth, and affirms a conviction of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in Thomas v. Commonwealth.

In Orndorff, a panel of the court had reversed the conviction and remanded for a new trial; Tuesday’s ruling reinstates that conviction. The panel majority, Judges Clements and Benton, are joined by Judge Elder in dissenting from the en banc decision; Chief Judge Fitzpatrick, who dissented in the panel opinion, gets to author the majority opinion this time.

Judge Benton files a lone dissent in Thomas, arguing that the trial court admitted evidence of other bad acts that should have been excluded.

The court also hands down a panel opinion in Kromer v. Commonwealth, addressing for the first time the question of how one “possesses” child pornography when the images are contained on a computer. In a sufficiency of the evidence appeal, the court finds that the Commonwealth adequately proved that Kromer possessed the materials, and affirms the conviction.