Gillespie v. Commonwealth

OPINION BY Senior Justice CHARLESS. RUSSELL.

This appeal requires us to construe the language of Code § 19.2-295.1 concerning bifurcated trials in criminal cases. It presents the question whether the Commonwealth may, at the sentencing stage of a bifurcated trial, present evidence of the sentences imposed upon the defendant as a part of his record of prior convictions.

Facts and Proceedings

In a jury trial, Robert Lewis Gillispie 1 was found guilty of statutory burglary. The jury fixed his punishment at five years imprisonment. After considering a pre-sentence report, the trial court imposed…