Category: Courts and law
-
Legal Futility of Virginia’s Online Petitions
by Emilio Jaksetic Currently, online petitions are advocating the removal of the superintendent of the Fairfax County Public Schools and the principal of Thomas Jefferson High School. (See the petitions here and here.) Such online petitions are legally futile. Under Virginia law, removal of elected officials such as Fairfax County school board members is handled differently…
-
Richmond’s Infamous Icon
By Peter Galuszka Since 1890, the Robert E. Lee Monument has dominated Richmond’s grand Monument Avenue and has stood as a striking protector of the state’s long history of systemic racism. True, other Confederate heroes such as Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and J.E.B. Stuart also found a memorial spot on the Avenue but Lee has always…
-
Part III – Questions raised by Attorney General Herring’s Loudoun County Schools Determination
by James C. Sherlock The citizens of Loudoun and LCPS need to understand all the implications of the Attorney General’s determination. This essay will offer questions that I sincerely recommend that LCPS pose to the Attorney General in order to get enough information to decide what to do. The AG’s office was given 60 days…
-
Herring’s Loudoun County Determination Part II – State-Sponsored Extortion
by James C. Sherlock Part one of two essays on this subject described a new Virginia law, a new Division in the Attorney Generals office, its function as a kangaroo court and its astonishing and sweeping “determination” against Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS). The law requires LCPS to block Asian American kids from the competitively…
-
Belly Flops Make a Splash – Virginia Attacks on School Quality Gain National Attention
by James C. Sherlock The Wall Street Journal featured an op-ed today, the first four words of which were “Attorney General Mark Herring.” No picture of the AG, so I offer one here, but they spelled his name right. so perhaps it will be Senator Herring or President Herring one day soon. Unfortunately, the next…
-
A Clear Victory for Civil Liberties
by James C. Sherlock In a speech to the Federalist Society earlier this month, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said the pandemic “has resulted in previously unimaginable restrictions on individual liberty. This is especially evident with respect to religious liberty. It pains me to say this, but in certain quarters, religious liberty is fast becoming a…
-
Mark Herring’s Worst Thanksgiving – Conspiracy Against EVMS may lead to Federal Involvement
by James C. Sherlock Scandals are sometimes overrated. Not this one. I have reported here before on the strange case of the EVMS-ODU merger. I posted here on Nov 1, Nov 2 and Nov 3 with my own concerns on the subject. Many of my assessments came to fruition. On November 13 and 20, the Checks…
-
U.S. Supreme Court Must Limit Virginia’s Gubernatorial Authority in Emergencies
by James C. Sherlock Kerry Daugherty, as is her want, posted a particularly compelling essay today. The most important thing Kerry wrote was: “Please let there be another lawsuit. And let it get to the Supreme Court…. Seems only the courts can save us from these tyrants.” She is absolutely right. Article IV of the United…
-
A Big Election Day for Marijuana
by DJ Rippert Rolling stoned gathers no moss. Marijuana reform has been gaining momentum in the U.S. since California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996. Today 36 states have either enacted medical marijuana access laws or are in the process of implementing such laws. In 2012 Colorado and Washington became the…
-
Fifty Pounds of Weed in Arlington = Probation?
by DJ Rippert This landing may get bumpy. In late 2018 a chap was on a plane that landed at Reagan National Airport. He undoubtedly had the usual tools of travel — toothbrush, shave kit and clean socks. However, he also had 50 pounds of marijuana and 400 cartridges of hashish oil. Perhaps he got…
-
Initial Observations on the Virginia Election Results
by James C. Sherlock Nobody asked, me, but I offer my Wednesday morning initial assessment of the elections in Virginia. In no particular order, here they are. Until there is a Republican Party of Virginia, not the current Republican Party of me, the party candidates will remain eclectic to the point of statewide incoherence. Not…
-
Voters, Consider the Fate of the Bill of Rights
by James C. Sherlock Before voters go to the polls on Tuesday, I think it a useful exercise to consider the future of the Bill of Rights with a Supreme Court “expanded,” as promised by Democrats if they control the Presidency and the Senate, to provide a leftist majority. To enable that reflection, it is…
-
Northam’s Non-COVID Non-Update
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4eTqh-1pTU&w=480&h=315] Note: video starts at 4:50 by DJ Rippert Northam fiddles. As a resurgence of COVID-19 spreads across Europe and the United States, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam held a press conference ostensibly to discuss the pandemic. The presser provided little new information about the coronavirus or Virginia’s plans to combat the disease. Northam did…
-
Does Racism Still Reside At VMI?
By Peter Galuszka On this blog, at least, there has been plenty of grief at the University of Virginia over controversies involving diversity. But over at Lexington, a town not far away, an even bigger battle involving the issue has been engaged. Black students and alumni at the Virginia Military Institute, the state’s public military…
-
The November Election, Marijuana and Northern Virginia
By DJ Rippert Up for grabs. In about three weeks Americans who haven’t already voted will go to the polls and vote. The presidency, the U,S, House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are all in play. Regarding the impact of the legalized adult use of marijuana in Virginia, the U.S. Senate is the key.…