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Granted Appeal Summary

Case

CANDACE RENE CALDWELL v. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA (Record Number 190541)

From

The Court of Appeals of Virginia.

Counsel

Rick Boyer (Integrity Law Firm, PLLC) for appellant.

Tiffany J. Bennett (Office of the Commonwealth\\u2019s Attorney) for appellee.

Assignment of Error

The trial court improperly convicted Caldwell of defrauding an innkeeper by obtaining food with intent not to pay therefor, in violation of Code of Virginia 18.2-188. Code of Virginia \\xa7 18.2-188 requires that a defendant have the intent to defraud when the benefit is obtained. The Court stated that even if Caldwell did not have the intent to defraud when she obtained the benefit, when she was later asked to pay and refused, she formed the intent to defraud, and convicted Caldwell. The Court did not find that Caldwell possessed the requisite intent at the time she obtained the benefit, as required by the statute. Accordingly, Caldwell\\u2019s conviction is improper and should be overturned.

There was no transcript made of the trial, and no mention was made in the parties\\u2019 initial Statement of Facts in Lieu of Transcript that the objection was specifically preserved at trial. However, the Court of Appeals found that there was sufficient evidence in the record to determine that Caldwell\\u2019s objection was preserved by her counsel at trial. Caldwell argues that, given the trial court\\u2019s error of law, the ends of justice militate in favor of this Court\\u2019s granting her appeal despite the lack of a record in the initial Statement of Facts indicating that the objection was specifically preserved by her trial counsel.

The Court of Appeals erred in not finding that the judge\\u2019s clearly erroneous statement of law did not constitute reversible error.

http://www.courts.state.va.us/courts/scv/appeals/190541.pdf

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