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409, 421 (2012) (“It is well-settled that a party who challenges the ruling of a lower court must
on appeal assign error to each articulated basis for that ruling.”). However, Adams failed to
timely and specifically object to the second ground for denial in the circuit court, so its argument
is waived.
“No ruling of the trial court . . . will be considered as a basis for reversal unless an
objection was stated with reasonable certainty at the time of the ruling, except for good cause
shown or to enable this Court to attain the ends of justice.” Rule 5A:18. “Not just any objection
will do. It must be both specific and timely—so that the trial judge would know the particular
point being made in time to do something about it.” Dickerson v. Commonwealth, 58 Va. App.
351, 356 (2011); see Scialdone v. Commonwealth, 279 Va. 422, 437 (2010) (explaining that to
satisfy the contemporaneous-objection rule, an objection must be made “at a point in the
proceeding when the trial court is in a position, not only to consider the asserted error, but also to
rectify the effect of the asserted error”). “For the circuit court to rule intelligently, the parties
must inform the circuit court ‘of the precise points of objection in the minds of counsel.’”
Maxwell v. Commonwealth, 287 Va. 258, 265 (2014) (quoting Gooch v. City of Lynchburg, 201
Va. 172, 177 (1959)).
Moreover, “[a] basic principle of appellate review is that . . . arguments made for the first
time on appeal will not be considered.” Appalachian Voices v. State Corp. Comm’n, 277 Va.
509, 515 (2009) (first alteration in original) (quoting Martin v. Ziherl, 269 Va. 35, 39 (2005));
see Buck v. Jordan, 256 Va. 535, 545-46 (1998). “Procedural-default principles require that the
argument asserted on appeal be the same as the contemporaneous argument at trial.” Bethea v.
Commonwealth, 297 Va. 730, 743 (2019); see also Floyd v. Commonwealth, 219 Va. 575, 584
(1978) (holding that the Court will not consider an argument that differs from the specific
argument presented to the trial court, even if it relates to the same general issue). Jump to an indexed page (13 of 13)