Edwards v. Commonwealth

I respectfully dissent. I believe that the evidence in this case supports the trial court’s factual conclusion that appellant’s purse fit within the definition of “outfit” that we articulated in Mercer v. Commonwealth, 29 Va.App. 380, 512 S.E.2d 173 (1999).

As a preliminary matter, the majority applies a de novo standard of review to decide this issue, citing Williams v. Commonwealth, 50 Va.App. 337, 340, 649 S.E.2d 717, 718 (2007). In Williams, this Court reviewed de novo the term “implement,” found in the same statute at issue in this case, Code § 18.2-94, and defined that term for the first…