Graham v. Commonwealth

I disagree with the majority opinion’s conclusion, and the decision of this Court in Pigg v. Commonwealth, 17 Va. App. 756, 441 S.E.2d 216 (1994) (en banc), that the failure to appoint a guardian ad litem for an alcoholic during a habitual offender proceeding pursuant to Code § 8.01-9 did not deprive the trial court of jurisdiction.3 Because no guardian ad litem was appointed for Alan Ray Graham, an alcoholic as that term is used in Code § 8.01-2, his adjudication as a habitual offender is void. Therefore, for the reasons that follow, I would reverse Graham’s conviction for driving after…