56th Annual Criminal Law Seminar 2026

Please note: This seminar is NOT eligible for Virginia CLE^® discounts, and Virginia CLE^® Online Bundle credits or Unlimited Online Passes may NOT be used to register for this program.

Hotel Accommodations: Contact Pamela Flynn at pflynn@vsb.org if you want overnight room reservation information.

Downloadable E-Book Seminar Materials

ALL registrants will receive access to a complete set of downloadable e-book seminar materials. E-book materials are searchable, easily accessible, and efficient to use. When registering, please be sure to provide a valid e-mail address to which Virginia CLE^® can use to distribute the e-book materials. Virginia CLE^® will e-mail you a link to the downloadable e-book materials two business days before the seminar. Printed materials will not be available at the seminar.

Registration Deadlines:

Cancellation Policy: Cancellation/transfer requests will be honored until 5:00 p.m. the day preceding the seminar. You will, however, be charged $90 if you cancel or transfer your registration to a different seminar after the link to the materials has been e-mailed by Virginia CLE^®.

Full refunds or transfers are available up to two days after a webcast in the unlikely event that you experience technical difficulties.

Special Accommodations/Dietary Restrictions: If you plan to attend the seminar in person and need special accommodations or have dietary restrictions, please email tfitzgerald@vacle.org.

This seminar will be conducted in a smoke-free environment.

Inclement Weather Policy and Updates.

MCLE Credit Caveat: The MCLE Board measures credits by the time you spend in attendance. If you enter a seminar late or leave it early, or both, you must reflect those adjustments accurately in the credits you report on your credit reporting form. A code will be given at the end of the seminar, which must be written on your MCLE form.

Can’t Attend?

E-mail distance_ed@vacle.org to be notified when/if this program is made available as an online or USB seminar.
E-mail publications@vacle.org to be notified when/if this program’s seminar materials are made available for sale.

• Q&A will be handled via chat room for Webcast attendees.

Faculty

Hon. D. Arthur Kelsey, Supreme Court of Virginia / Richmond

Mackenzie Babichenko, Hanover County Commonwealth’s Attorney / Hanover

Tanishka Cruz, Cruz Law, PLLC / Charlottesville

Anne Heishman, County of Fairfax Commissioner of Accounts Office / Fairfax

Professor Corinna Lain, University of Richmond School of Law / Richmond

Alison G. Martin, County of Henrico Commonwealth Attorney’s Office / Henrico

Ashley Warmeling, Senior Immigration Resource Attorney, VIDC / Richmond

Lauren McGarry Young, Expungement and Sealing Resource Attorney, VIDC / Richmond

Virginia State Bar, Criminal Law Section, Seminar Chair

Chuck Slemp, Troutman Pepper Locke / Richmond

Lunch Speaker

Craig S. Cooley, Craig S. Cooley, PLC / Richmond

About the Speakers

Hon. D. Arthur Kelsey, Supreme Court of Virginia / Richmond

The Hon. D. Arthur Kelsey has served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia since his appointment by the Virginia General Assembly in January 2015. His judicial career spans more than two decades and includes service at every level of Virginia’s judiciary. Prior to joining the Supreme Court, he served on the Court of Appeals of Virginia beginning in 2002, following his appointment by Governor Mark R. Warner. From 2000 to 2002, Justice Kelsey was a judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of Virginia, presiding over matters in Suffolk, Southampton County, and Isle of Wight County.

Justice Kelsey earned his B.A. in Political Science, magna cum laude, from Old Dominion University and his Juris Doctor from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif.

Before assuming judicial office, Justice Kelsey practiced law as a litigation partner at Hunton & Williams. He previously clerked for Chief U.S. District Judge John A. MacKenzie of the Eastern District of Virginia in 1984 (summer) and from 1985 to 1986. His legal experience spans trial and appellate advocacy, complex civil litigation, and significant scholarly engagement with the history and structure of the Anglo-American legal tradition.

Justice Kelsey is a prolific legal writer whose scholarship explores jurisprudence, legal history, appellate review, and the structural foundations of judicial power. His publications have appeared in Virginia Lawyer, the VBA Journal, Judicature, the Regent University Law Review, the Tulane Law Review, the Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce, and other professional journals. He is also a contributing author to the Antitrust Law Developments (4th ed.), published by the ABA Section of Antitrust Law, and has served as Associate Editor of American Maritime Cases.

Justice Kelsey continues to write and lecture frequently, contributing to the ongoing study and refinement of Virginia’s legal system and the broader American jurisprudential tradition.

Mackenzie Babichenko, Hanover County Commonwealth’s Attorney / Hanover

Mackenzie Babichenko is an experienced and dedicated career prosecutor, known for her unwavering commitment to justice. Born and raised in northeastern Ohio, she pursued her early education at The George Washington University, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forensic Chemistry with minors in Physics and Psychology. She later earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Miami Miller School of Law.

Ms. Babichenko embarked on her legal career in Portsmouth, Virginia, as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, working for the Honorable Earle Mobley. 

 In 2014, Ms. Babichenko was welcomed into the Hanover Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. Over the past decade, she has served in several capacities including Assistant and Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, before accepting the role of Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney, overseeing the office under the esteemed R. E “Trip” Chalkley, III.

Throughout her career, Ms. Babichenko has demonstrated an enduring commitment to community service and professional development. She is an active participant in the Hanover County Bar Association, Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys, and other local and regional initiatives such as the Hanover Child Abuse Response Team, Hanover Sexual Abuse Response Team, Richmond Regional Human Trafficking Collaborative, and Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children. Additionally, she served as the Republican co-chair of the Virginia Redistricting Commission in 2021.

Holding membership in both the Virginia State Bar and Patent Bar, Ms. Babichenko has also benefited from specialized training to continually enhance her legal expertise. Beyond her professional responsibilities, she serves the community through her involvement as a coach for the University of Richmond Trial Advocacy Competition Team and as an instructor at the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office Police Academy.

Today, Ms. Babichenko resides in the Sliding Hill area with her husband, Igor, and their three children. In January 2024, she became the Hanover County Commonwealth’s Attorney.

Tanishka Cruz, Cruz Law, PLLC / Charlottesville

Tanishka V. Cruz is the founder and managing attorney at Cruz Law PLLC, a small law firm in Charlottesville established in 2017 focused on immigration law matters, including but not limited to removal defense, family-based immigrant visas, and humanitarian forms of immigration relief. She also serves as a court appointed Guardian ad Litem for children before the Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts and Circuit Courts. Ms. Cruz previously served as a board member for the Legal Aid Justice Center and has co-supervised students in the University of Virginia School of Law’s Immigration Law Clinic. She received her B.A. from Temple University and her Juris Doctor from Drexel University, Thomas R. Kline School of Law.

Anne Heishman, County of Fairfax Commissioner of Accounts Office / Fairfax

Anne M. Heishman was appointed Commissioner of Accounts for the 19th Judicial Circuit on July 1, 2020. She began her legal career in 2003 as a law clerk to the Honorable Michael P. McWeeny of the Fairfax County Circuit Court. She worked as a domestic relations attorney for several years before turning her focus to elder law matters. From 2008 through 2020, her legal practice concentrated on guardianship, conservatorship, estate and trust administration, and contested fiduciary matters. Ms. Heishman also served as a Guardian ad Litem for incapacitated adults. She has extensive courtroom experience, focused primarily on guardianship and fiduciary litigation.

In addition to her law practice, Ms. Heishman has been a lecturer and panel participant for seminars presented by the Virginia State Bar, the Virginia Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, and the Fairfax Bar Association. She was an adjunct professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School (George Mason University), teaching Legal Research and Writing to first- and second-year law students. She served as a member of the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary District Committee for several years. She is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the Fairfax Bar Association.

Ms. Heishman has received an “AV Preeminent” Rating from Martindale-Hubble. She has been recognized as a top Elder Law attorney by Washingtonian magazine (2015, 2017, 2018), Northern Virginia magazine (2011, 2015, 2016), Virginia Business magazine (2013, 2015, 2019) and Arlington magazine (2019).

Ms. Heishman received her B.A. from James Madison University in 1995 and graduated from the Antonin Scalia School of Law (George Mason University), cum laude, in 2003.

Professor Corinna Lain, University of Richmond School of Law / Richmond

Professor Corinna Lain is the S. D. Roberts & Sandra Moore Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law. Professor Lain’s scholarship focuses on two areas—Supreme Court decision-making and the death penalty—and she has published numerous articles and essays about lethal injection over the last decade. Her work has appeared in the nation’s top law journals, including the Stanford Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Duke Law Journal, UCLA Law Review, and Georgetown Law Journal, among other venues. Professor Lain is a frequent presenter at both national and international conferences, and is co-author (with Ron Bacigal) of the Virginia Practice Series on criminal law, a four-volume treatise for the bench and practicing bar with new editions each year. Professor Lain graduated summa cum laude from the College of William and Mary in 1992 and received her J.D. from the University of Virginia in 1996, where she was elected to Order of the Coif. She clerked on the Tenth Circuit and then was a prosecutor for three years before joining the Richmond Law faculty in 2001. Professor Lain is a recipient of the University of Richmond’s Distinguished Educator Award and is a veteran of the United States Army. Her first book, Secrets of the Killing State: the Untold Story of Lethal Injection, released April 2025.

Alison G. Martin, County of Henrico Commonwealth Attorney’s Office / Henrico

Alison Martin, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for Henrico County. Alison Martin brings enthusiasm and energy to her practice. She handles all phases of prosecution of sophisticated and complex violent matters, including high-profile media cases like the Adam Oakes matter and Comm. v. Nasir Eberhardt, who murdered Highland Springs High School basketball standout Jahiem Dickerson. She is a frequent lecturer and law enforcement trainer on issues related to child abuse, sexual assault, and elder abuse. Additionally, she provides training regarding in-court testimony to law enforcement recruits. She frequently represents the CA’s office at forward-facing community events, including presentations at churches related to elder and child abuse. She is married to another lawyer, and they are the proud parents of three boys.

Ashley Warmeling, Senior Immigration Resource Attorney, VIDC / Richmond

Ashley Warmeling is the Senior Immigration Resource Attorney for the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission (VIDC). In this role, she advises all public defenders in Virginia on the immigration consequences of criminal offenses for non-citizen clients. Prior to joining the VIDC, Ms. Warmeling was a Managing Attorney at the Amica Center (formerly known as CAIR Coalition). In this role, she supervised entry-level attorneys in their representation of clients in Virginia immigration detention centers. She also led the Fairfax County Immigrant Defense Program and the DC Immigrant Justice Legal Services Program. These programs used local funding to establish public defender-type models of legal representation for immigrants in ICE custody, known as “universal representation.” She also represented clients who had been designated mentally incompetent by the Immigration Court. Ms. Warmeling has also worked at Human Rights First and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project. After graduating law school, she clerked for the Senior Judges at the District of Columbia Superior Court in Washington, DC. Ms. Warmeling is admitted to practice law in Virginia and Michigan. She is fluent in English and Spanish.

Lauren McGarry Young, Expungement and Sealing Resource Attorney, VIDC / Richmond

Bio forthcoming.

Virginia State Bar, Criminal Law Section, Seminar Chair

Chuck Slemp, Troutman Pepper Locke / Richmond

Chuck Slemp currently advises clients on a wide range of complex issues that frequently involve government actions, including investigations, inquiries, regulatory matters, and litigation. With a distinguished background in the law and public service, he served as Chief Deputy Attorney General of Virginia before joining the firm. In addition to overseeing the Department of Law and Division of Debt Collection, he managed a team of attorneys who handled complex litigation and investigations. He also directed the Attorney General’s legislative affairs and represented the Attorney General in various capacities.

As an elected official, Mr. Slemp served six years as the Commonwealth’s Attorney of Wise County and the city of Norton in Virginia. His work included leading the largest prosecutor’s office in southwestern Virginia, coordinating complex multijurisdictional law-enforcement operations, and serving as the victim witness services director. In addition to prosecuting serious and violent crimes, he drafted legislation, advocated before the General Assembly, crafted programs to promote economic development and public safety, strengthened policies to protect seniors from elder abuse, and addressed the opioid addiction crisis affecting central Appalachia.

Mr. Slemp also served in a quasi-judicial capacity as commissioner of accounts and general receiver, responsible for Virginia’s probate court and the supervision of various fiduciaries admitted to qualify before the circuit court. As the official responsible for the settlement of fiduciary accounts, he conducted hearings to make determinations on a wide range of issues, including the sufficiency of fiduciary bonds, creditors’ claims, and disputes involving estate administration. Before this appointment, Mr. Slemp operated his own general practice law firm, where his areas of focus included wills and estate planning law, juvenile advocacy, and criminal defense in state and federal courts. He also served as town attorney for the town of Pennington Gap, providing advice to the town council and officials, drafting ordinances, and handling employment matters.

Lunch Speaker

Craig S. Cooley, Craig S. Cooley, PLC / Richmond

Craig Cooley is a practicing attorney in the Richmond, Virginia, area. He is a past Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Virginia State Bar, past President of the Richmond Criminal Bar Association, a Substitute Judge, has served on the faculty of the Professionalism Curriculum Course of the Virginia Supreme Court, and served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Richmond Law School. His 48 years of law practice include over 70 capital murder representations, over 500 murder trials, and over 4,500 representations of indigent defendants. He has tried over 500 jury trials.

Mr. Cooley served as co-lead counsel to Lee Boyd Malvo, the 17-year-old juvenile tried for capital murder as one of the two “D.C. Beltway Snipers.”