Starrs v. Commonwealth

PRESENT: All the Justices WILLIAM GABRIEL STARRS OPINION BY v. Record No. 122028 CHIEF JUSTICE CYNTHIA D. KINSER January 10, 2014 COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA FROM THE COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA Upon accepting a guilty plea and entering it in the record, does a trial court nevertheless retain the inherent authority to withhold a finding of guilt and defer the disposition? That question is the issue in this appeal. We answer the question in the affirmative because until the court enters an order adjudicating guilt, it has not exercised its judicial power to render judgment. Therefore, we will…