Ex-Virginia college lacrosse player appeals murder conviction

By Gary Robertson RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) – A former University of Virginia lacrosse player convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend should get a new trial, his attorney told an appeals court on Wednesday, saying he had been effectively denied the right to counsel. Attorney Paul Clement told the Virginia Court of Appeals that George Huguely, 26, had objected to his 2012 jury trial going ahead when one of his attorneys became ill from stomach flu and could not question crucial medical witnesses. A judge let the trial in Charlottesville proceed, violating Huguely's right to counsel of his choice under the U.S. Constitution's Sixth Amendment, Clement said. Huguely, from Chevy Chase, Maryland, was convicted of second-degree murder last year for the May 2010 beating death of his ex-girlfriend, Yeardley Love, 22.