Category: Courts and law
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Afghan Immigrants and Their Children in Virginia – Part 2 – the Afghan Adjustment Act
by James C. Sherlock When I wrote Part 1 of this series, I promised further investigation into immigration of Afghan allies into Virginia. The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS), a hero in this story, has been entirely forthcoming in answering my inquiries. I will recount in a follow-up post their work so far. But…
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FOIA Council Responds on Request to UVa for Threat Assessment Team Records on Shooter
by James C. Sherlock On Sunday I asked the FOIA Council to provide an advisory opinion on the University of Virginia’s decision that information about that school’s threat assessment team deliberations in the case of the November shooter, Christopher Jones, will not be released as I requested. I received the answer this afternoon, which is…
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Indictments For Loudoun County School Officials
by Kerry Dougherty Looks like Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares just turned up the heat on Loudoun County. When he was elected, Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order calling for an investigation into what happened in Loudoun County Public Schools, where an alleged predator in a skirt reportedly got a pass for raping one…
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Great Investigative Reporting of a Heartbreaking Story
by James C. Sherlock For a story that will simultaneously make you angry and break your heart, read “Fathering While Black,” by Asra Nomani and Debra Tisler. It is the story of a guardian ad litem (GAL), Karen Keys-Gamarra, who is reported here to have systematically abused her position to pursue a Black father and…
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Threat Assessment Done Right — Virginia Tech
by James C. Sherlock Yesterday I harshly critiqued the structure, authorities and actions of the University of Virginia Threat Assessment Team. Today, in stark contrast, I offer Virginia Tech. Tech has complied with state law by simply doing what the law requires, and done it thoughtfully. As a result, Tech has established a far more…
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President Ryan’s Ship Has Hit the Shoals
by James C. Sherlock This is the Nov 16, 4:35 p.m. update to my highly controversial article on the failures of the University of Virginia to act against the alleged killer of three students before the crime. I was too gentle with the leadership of the University, my alma mater, in that article. I wrote…
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UVa Tragedy Reasonably Preventable? State Investigation Required
by James C. Sherlock Updated Nov. 15, 2020 at 8:36 AM (see end of article) We have two related pieces of information about the UVa tragedy that call into question the effectiveness of the University’s state-mandated threat-assessment process. We have the statements of senior University officials. And we have Code of Virginia § 23.1-805. Violence prevention…
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Fredericksburg is the Crime Capital of Virginia
by James C. Sherlock I wrote Friday that Fredericksburg has a major crime problem. After hours of plowing through state crime statistics for 2021, I can now declare Fredericksburg the crime capital of Virginia. Public safety is the number one job of local government, followed by running its schools. The statistics suggest the Fredericksburg law enforcement…
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Virginia Needs to Adopt the Uniform Act on Prevention of and Remedies for Human Trafficking
by James C. Sherlock Seldom can we mitigate bad problems with solutions that work and are handed us on a platter. But we can do that in Virginia in the case of human trafficking. The Department of Justice defines human trafficking as follows: Human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons, is a crime that…
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Norfolk Man Accused of Triple Murder About To Be Freed
by Kerry Dougherty Good news for the soft-on-crime crowd: a suspected triple murderer is being freed in Norfolk because two witnesses didn’t show up for yesterday’s preliminary hearing. And because it appears that prosecutors aren’t exactly breaking a sweat trying to get this case moving. Antoine M. Legrande Jr.’s hearing was originally scheduled for September…
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Ah, Those Woke Prosecutors!
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Here is a quiz. Below is the description of a crime that was released by the public information office of a Virginia locality. The killer pled guilty to charges of first-degree murder, attempted robbery (2 counts) and use of a firearm (3 counts). The judge sentenced him to 63 years in prison…
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Progressive Initiatives in Virginia to be Blocked by Environmental Laws?
by James C. Sherlock Sometimes we are too clever for our own good. American environmentalists have been hugely successful and have done a great deal of good. We have them to thank for cleaner water and air. But traditional environmentalists, supported by legal interests, incorporated two features in America’s environmental laws that may prove as…
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Virginia Model Policies on Protecting Students Show Differences in Constitutional Focus and Interpretation
by James C. Sherlock There is lots of interest, and not a little headline hyperbole, concerning the change in Virginia’s model policies designed to assure all children appropriate treatment at school. Two different world views are apparent in the titles: the Northam administration’s Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia’s Public Schools (Northam…
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Who’s “Legislating from the Bench” Now?
by Jim McCarthy “It’s not the court’s place to legislate,” the judge stated in local media after dismissing a case seeking to have two books declared obscene upon her ruling that such ban violated Virginia and federal law. “Look, the General Assembly is a citizen legislature. We’re not lawmakers. Things like this happen and a…
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U.K. Suit Demonstrates Legal Jeopardy for Virginia Child Transgender Clinics
by James C. Sherlock You knew it was coming. The Times of London has reported the inevitable lawsuit. Tavistock gender clinic ‘to be sued by 1,000 families’ The Tavistock gender clinic (now closed) is facing mass legal action from youngsters who claim they were rushed into taking life-altering puberty blockers. I have no idea if the…