Riner v. Commonwealth, 601 S.E.2d 555 (Va. 2004)

Cases | Riner v. Commonwealth, 601 S.E.2d 555 (Va. 2004) | 2018

The defendant was convicted of first degree murder. Prior to trial, the Commonwealth moved the trial court to allow a private attorney hired by the victim’s family to assist in the prosecution of charges against the defendant. The trial court granted the motion over the defendant’s objection. On appeal, the defendant claimed that: (1) the private prosecutor had a conflict of interest because the law firm in which he was a partner represented the parent company of the life insurance company issuing the policy on the victim’s life; (2) the private prosecutor controlled the presentation of the Commonwealth’s evidence of arson, the means by which it proved the murder charge; and (3) the court should abolish the use of private prosecutors. The court held that the trial court did not err in permitting the private attorney to assist in preparation and prosecution of the charges nor in the level of his participation allowed by the court. Specifically, the court found that: (1) the trial court had discretion to determine whether there was a conflict of interest and accepted the representations of the private prosecutor that he checked for any conflict-of-interest and found none; (2) the public prosecutor remained in continuous control of the case; and (3) the legislature was the more appropriate body to change the common law.