Patricia Ann Gerald v. Commonwealth of Virginia
1931152
| Va. Ct. App. | Dec 27, 2016Background
- On May 26, 2013, a Mercedes rear-ended Paul Welch’s car in Albemarle County; Welch saw Patricia Gerald (appellant) exit the Mercedes as its driver and later identified her as the driver.
- Tarsha Gerald (appellant’s daughter) gave Welch contact/insurance information and initially presented herself as the owner; the two women switched seats and left the scene before police arrived.
- Officers located the Mercedes at an address and spoke with appellant; she admitted ownership and twice told officers (Miller and Scopelliti) that she had been driving and that she had a suspended license.
- Appellant and Tarsha were convicted in General District Court of driving on a suspended license; both appealed to the Albemarle County Circuit Court where they were retried on the original charge and separately charged with perjury for testimony denying driving at the GDC trial.
- At the circuit bench trial the court heard testimony (Welch, Miller, Scopelliti) and defense witnesses; appellant invoked the Fifth at trial and raised a venue objection arguing the GDC courthouse was in the City of Charlottesville, not Albemarle County.
- The trial court convicted appellant of driving on a suspended license (third offense) and perjury (denying she drove at the GDC); it rejected the defense witnesses as not credible and held venue in Albemarle County proper under the city charter’s “joint jurisdiction.”
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence for perjury (Code § 18.2-434) | Commonwealth: testimony of Welch plus appellant’s out-of-court admissions to officers corroborate falsity and materiality. | Gerald: Commonwealth failed to prove exact questions asked at GDC or exclude hypotheses of innocence; insufficient corroboration. | Affirmed — evidence (witness ID + two officer statements) satisfied elements of perjury and corroboration requirement. |
| Materiality of alleged false testimony | Commonwealth: whether appellant was driving was material to suspended-license charge. | Gerald: alleged answers may have referred to another time/place; not shown material or false. | Affirmed — court found issue (who drove) was material and alternative hypotheses did not flow from evidence. |
| Requirement to prove exact wording of GDC questions | Commonwealth: officer notes and testimony established the questions sufficiently. | Gerald: officer could not recall word-for-word; insufficient proof of what elicited the denials. | Affirmed — officer had contemporaneous notes and could identify questions; exact verbatim wording not required. |
| Venue for perjury trial | Commonwealth: Albemarle County proper because city charter grants “joint jurisdiction” over county property within Charlottesville. | Gerald: courthouse sits in City of Charlottesville so Albemarle County lacked venue; joint jurisdiction requires concerted action. | Affirmed — “joint jurisdiction” means either jurisdiction may prosecute; charter supplies statutory exception to default venue rule. |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence)
- Spencer v. Commonwealth, 238 Va. 275 (appellate standard for sufficiency and deference to factfinder)
- Mendez v. Commonwealth, 220 Va. 97 (elements required for perjury conviction)
- Holz v. Commonwealth, 220 Va. 876 (materiality requirement for perjury)
- Keffer v. Commonwealth, 12 Va. App. 545 (corroboration requirement for perjury)
- Fitch v. Commonwealth, 92 Va. 824 (venue for offenses committed in courthouse; distinguished on charter/joint-jurisdiction basis)