State and National Government
An attorney in Virginia has filed a complaint against a judge who had halted the removal of Confederate statues from Richmond’s Monument Avenue. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Friday that the complaint criticizes the judge for presiding over the statue cases despite living near the monuments. It also cites a college editorial the judge wrote in 1977 that criticized a voter registration plan and said it would “allow the parasites of this nation to become the dominating force in politics.” Attorney David Baugh filed his complaint with Virginia’s Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission. Richmond Circuit Court Judge Bradley B. Cavedo has recused himself from the cases. He’s also defended his record as a judge.
Virginia Democrats in the General Assembly are making it clear – they plan to enact major legislation next month involving police conduct and criminal justice laws. Ahead of that, the process is already underway, as two House of Delegates committees combined yesterday for an on-line hearing. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
One of Virginia’s Democratic US Senators says more accusations of attempted Russian hacking demands a strong response. WFIR’s Clark Palmer has that story.RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Democrats say they are looking to make transformational change to the state’s criminal justice system — just a few months after taking a far less ambitious approach.
The killing of George Floyd and widespread protests over police violence have prompted lawmakers and their allies to promise sweeping changes to a criminal justice system many advocates have long said doles out disparate treatment to minorities.
“I think we’re all tired of the incremental change that has failed us and failed our community members for so long,” Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Morales said on a conference call recently organized by Senate Democrats. “We want to do as much as possible as quickly as possible.”
It’s a far cry from earlier this year, when criminal justice reform supporters were disappointed when many of their proposals were put off for a year or sent to a commission for study.
Democrats controlled the Virginia’s state legislature for the first time in a generation and passed landmark legislation hailed by many of their allies, including environmentalists, women’s rights groups, and gun-control supporters.
But after Floyd’s killing sparked nationwide protests — including in Virginia where several Confederate monuments have been taken down — lawmakers pledged to make criminal justice a key part of a special session scheduled in August. The session was initially set just to focus on state budget shortfalls due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Lawmakers recently began to hold hearings on criminal justice proposals that have been suggested by the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, the Democratic Senate Caucus and a group of liberal-leaning county prosecutors.
Those proposals include banning choke holds, giving prosecutors unrestricted access to all reports and disciplinary records of police officers and downgrading the charge of assault on a police officer from a felony to a misdemeanor in cases where the officer is not injured. Those who want to change the law say the assault charge can be misused and overused by police, sometimes when they fear they will be accused of using excessive force. The current law carries a mandatory minimum sentence of six months behind bars.
“I’m really concerned about some of these really important issues being rushed through without due process,” Jones said.
Other proposals Democrats and their allies support include requiring that most warrants are served during the daytime, and that a judge, not a magistrate, approve any no-knock or nighttime warrants, proposals that are aimed at preventing cases similar to Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by police conducting a no-knock warrant at her home in Kentucky earlier this year.
State Sen. Scott Surovell said some lawmakers “wanted to go a little slower and take a little harder look at things” earlier this year, but he’s hopeful the events of the last few months have brought the need for immediate reform into focus.
“The pace was really more of an issue than the policy,” Surovell said.
House Del. Patrick Hope, who is helping lead House committee hearings on criminal justice reform, said Floyd’s death convinced him and other lawmakers that “decisive” action is needed.
“The sense of urgency is growing, and we cannot ignore these issues any longer,” Hope said Wednesday at a virtual committee hearing.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia is focusing on increasing police accountability, in part by establishing a set of professional standards of conduct for officers that, if violated, could result in the loss of their police certification.
Currently, police officers in Virginia can only lose their certification if they fail to complete mandatory training or are convicted of a felony or certain misdemeanors. Under the proposal, they could face the loss of their certification for misconduct, including the excessive use of force.
“Law enforcement should be treated as a profession,” said Claire Gastanaga, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia. “And police — if they want to be treated like professionals — need to understand they can lose their license for misconduct.”
Despite the new urgency in the need for reform, lawmakers are also trying to temper expectations that all meaningful reforms will pass this special session. They said given the state’s long history of racism and inequity, the work will take some time.
“This was the capital of the Confederacy, these are not problems that materialized overnight and they will not be fixed overnight,” said Sen. Mamie Locke. “We have our work cut out for us.”
Virginia Republicans say they intend to address public education when the General Assembly reconvenes next month in special session – even if Governor Northam has not called for any consideration on that subject. Republicans say any steps that keep students out of school for any number of days puts them at a permanent disadvantage behind those schools that teach in person every day. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
Gov. Ralph Northam
Governor Ralph Northam has called for a special legislative session next month to focus on the state budget in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic as well as criminal and social justice reform. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that Northam’s office made the announcement Friday. Lawmakers will be due back in Richmond on Aug. 18. The Democratic governor said in a statement that he and lawmakers have a unique opportunity to invest in the state’s economic recovery and “make progress” on policing and criminal justice reform.
Rep. Morgan Griffith
A U.S. Congressman from Salem in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 says he wouldn’t change the country’s response to the novel coronavirus. WFIR’s Ian Price has more:
WFIR Morning Anchor and Reporter Ian Price’s full interview with Congressman Griffith can be heard below via a “Longer Listen” segment:
Virginia Republicans says Governor Northam is going about it all wrong when he threatens to pull licenses from businesses that do not enforce his COVID-19 regulations. Northam said yesterday that a recent surge in case counts led to his warning. But Franklin County State Senator Bill Stanley joined other Republican legislative leaders in saying Northam is going after the wrong source in threatening businesses that have little to no part in the increase. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
A political analyst from UVA says a book written by President’ Trump niece could have some impact on his re-election chances. WFIR’s Clark Palmer has that story.Governor Northam says his administration is leaving it up to local school boards to decide how many classes are taught in person or on line. The governor says unlike his statewide COVID-related regulations, public education is not an area where one size fits all, but one guideline in particular remains constant. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones: