Commonwealth v. Morris

By Judge William H. Ledbetter, Jr.

The question presented is whether the defendant can be prosecuted for object sexual penetration under Virginia Code § 18.2-67.2 for an offense that occurred in 1990.

Facts

The defendant (Morris) is charged with capital murder, abduction, robbery, and object sexual penetration. A jury trial is scheduled to begin on February 28,2000.

On October 4, 1999, counsel for Morris filed a motion to dismiss the object sexual penetration indictment alleging that Morris must be charged specifically with inanimate object sexual penetration because the statute prohibited only…