Com. v. Baker

Decision Date11 June 1999
Docket NumberRecord No. 982102.
Citation258 Va. 1,516 S.E.2d 219
PartiesCOMMONWEALTH of Virginia v. Jeramie Michael BAKER.
CourtVirginia Supreme Court

Michael T. Judge, Assistant Attorney General (Mark L. Earley, Attorney. General, on briefs), for appellant.

Clifford Y. Rose (Rose & Wall, on brief), Fredericksburg, for appellee.

Present: All the Justices.

PER CURIAM.

In this appeal, the Court reviews a judgment of the Court of Appeals declaring the transfer of jurisdiction from a juvenile and domestic relations district court to a circuit court ineffectual and the subsequent convictions void. Baker v. Commonwealth, 28 Va. App. 306, 504 S.E.2d 394 (1998).

Central to the decision below was the interpretation of Code § 16.1-263(A), which provides, in part, that after a juvenile petition is filed, the court shall direct summonses "to the parents" of the juvenile. Here, even though the juvenile's mother received notice, the juvenile's biological father was not notified, there was no attempt to give him notice, and the circuit court made no certification on the record that the identity of the father was not reasonably ascertainable.

Parenthetically, we note the statute has been amended effective July 1, 1999 to provide for notice to "at least one parent." Acts 1999, ch. 952.

For the reasons set forth in the opinion of the Court of Appeals, we will affirm the court's judgment.

Furthermore, we decline the Attorney General's request that we apply...

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29 cases
  • Johnson v. Commonwealth
    • United States
    • Virginia Supreme Court
    • 21 Abril 2000
    ...before the original indictments were obtained. He also argues that the original indictments were void under Commonwealth v. Baker, 258 Va. 1, 516 S.E.2d 219 (1999)(per curiam), because the Commonwealth had failed to notify Johnson's father of the transfer hearing in the juvenile court. We d......
  • Porter v. Com.
    • United States
    • Virginia Supreme Court
    • 6 Junio 2008
    ... ... Thus the pertinent comparison is between the defendant Baker in the seminal parental notification decision in Commonwealth ... 661 S.E.2d 430 ... v. Baker, 258 Va. 1, 516 S.E.2d 219 (1999) (per curiam), affirming Baker v. Commonwealth, 28 Va.App. 306, 504 S.E.2d 394 (1998), who made timely objection throughout the proceedings — making the defects ... ...
  • Smith v. Commonwealth Of Va.
    • United States
    • Virginia Court of Appeals
    • 15 Junio 2010
    ...period is void. Crowley, 227 Va. at 261-62, 316 S.E.2d at 443. 20. A Baker claim is one that arises from Commonwealth v. Baker, 258 Va. 1, 516 S.E.2d 219 (1999) (per curiam), aff'g Baker v. Commonwealth, 28 Va.App. 306, 504 S.E.2d 394 (1998) (holding that the failure to notify a juvenile's ......
  • Nelson v. WARDEN OF KEEN MTN. CORRECTIONAL
    • United States
    • Virginia Supreme Court
    • 14 Septiembre 2001
    ...Justice HARRY L. CARRICO This case involves a "Baker claim," i.e., one arising from this Court's decision in Commonwealth v. Baker, 258 Va. 1, 516 S.E.2d 219 (1999) (per curiam), aff'g Baker v. Commonwealth, 28 Va.App. 306, 504 S.E.2d 394 (1998) (failure to notify juvenile's parents of proc......
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7 books & journal articles
  • 3.4 Juvenile Law
    • United States
    • Virginia CLE The Virginia Lawyer: A Deskbook for Practitioners (Virginia CLE) Chapter 3 Litigation: Civil and Criminal
    • Invalid date
    ...or guardians, and the jurisdictional nature of such notice. See Baker v. Commonwealth, 28 Va. App. 306, 504 S.E.2d 394 (1998), aff'd, 258 Va. 1, 516 S.E.2d 219 (1999); Williams v. Commonwealth, 26 Va. App. 776, 497 S.E.2d 156 (1998); Karim v. Commonwealth, 22 Va. App. 767, 473 S.E.2d 103 (1......
  • 3.4 Juvenile Law
    • United States
    • Virginia CLE The Virginia Lawyer: A Deskbook for Practitioners (Virginia CLE) (2018 Ed.) Chapter 3 Litigation: Civil and Criminal
    • Invalid date
    ...or guardians, and the jurisdictional nature of such notice. See Baker v. Commonwealth, 28 Va. App. 306, 504 S.E.2d 394 (1998), aff'd, 258 Va. 1, 516 S.E.2d 219 (1999); Williams v. Commonwealth, 26 Va. App. 776, 497 S.E.2d 156 (1998); Karim v. Commonwealth, 22 Va. App. 767, 473 S.E.2d 103 (1......
  • 7.5 Certification or Transfer to the Circuit Court F for Trial as an Adult
    • United States
    • Virginia CLE Juvenile Law and Practice in Virginia (Virginia CLE) Chapter 7 Transfer of Juveniles from the Juvenile Court and Handling Juvenile Cases in the Circuit Court
    • Invalid date
    ...notice to both parents was fatal to the conviction and divested the court of subject matter jurisdiction. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Baker, 258 Va. 1, 516 S.E.2d 219 (1999).[28] Hailey v. Dorsey, 580 F.2d 112 (4th Cir. 1978); Harris v. Commonwealth, 222 Va. 205, 279 S.E.2d 395 (1981); Turne......
  • 7.5 Certification or Transfer to the Circuit Court for Trial as an Adult
    • United States
    • Virginia CLE Juvenile Law and Practice in Virginia (Virginia CLE) Chapter 7 Transfer of Juveniles from the Juvenile Court and Handling Juvenile Cases in the Circuit Court
    • Invalid date
    ...notice to both parents was fatal to the conviction and divested the court of subject matter jurisdiction. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Baker, 258 Va. 1, 516 S.E.2d 219 (1999).[28] Hailey v. Dorsey, 580 F.2d 112 (4th Cir. 1978); Harris v. Commonwealth, 222 Va. 205, 279 S.E.2d 395 (1981); Turne......
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