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V★TE FILESUnited States edition
Independent · nonpartisan
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State court of last resort · ST-VA-SC

Bryant v. Commonwealth

No. 170712Supreme Court of Virginia

170712 Bryant v. Commonwealth 04/05/2018 In a prosecution for unlawfully discharging a firearm within an occupied building, made a Class 6 felony by Code § 18.2-279, the Commonwealth did not have the burden of…

The clerk's words are kept exactly as filed. We do not say who is winning.
01
The caption

The parties exactly as the court lists them—not a claim about the merits.

02
The movement

Orders, motions, and filings in the clerk's own words and sequence.

03
The proof

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Current update

170712 Bryant v. Commonwealth 04/05/2018 In a prosecution for unlawfully discharging a firearm within an occupied building, made …

At a glance
Court
Supreme Court of Virginia
First added here
October 4, 2026
Last entry
April 5, 2018
Policy at issue

No bill or executive-order citation is attached to this file.

Official docket

Case timeline

The clerk's wording is shown verbatim and linked to the court's own document page where available.

Docket entry

170712 Bryant v. Commonwealth 04/05/2018 In a prosecution for unlawfully discharging a firearm within an occupied building, made a Class 6 felony by Code § 18.2-279, the Commonwealth did not have the burden of proving that the firearm was not discharged accidentally or inadvertently. The statutory language is plain and unambiguous, proscribing the act of discharging a firearm within an occupied building in such a manner as to endanger the life of a person therein. The statute distinguishes between several levels of the offense and subjects them to punishments that differ according to the mens rea of the offender and the resulting harm. Use of the term "unlawfully" in Code § 18.2-279 describ…

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