Category: Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement
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Look in the Mirror, Fairfax School Board
by James A. Bacon After months of condemning Asian students for dominating the merit-based testing process for admission into the Thomas Jefferson (TJ) High School for Science and Technology, the Fairfax County School Board has issued a statement condemning anti-Asian racism… which it blames on others. Stated the resolution: The Fairfax County School Board condemns…
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“Drunk with Power”
by Kerry Dougherty Drunk with power. That might as well be the Northam administration motto. Those three words reportedly appear in a chain of internal emails among parole board members and staff that was obtained by WTVR CBS-6 Richmond. CBS claims it obtained internal Virginia Parole Board emails detailing their deliberations. “Dated April 2020, one…
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Not All Shootings Are Racially Motivated
by Kerry Dougherty As a long-time opinion writer I have one rule that I try to follow. I usually wait anywhere from 24 to 48 hours after a crime has been committed to weigh in. All too often what seems clear moments after the criminal act becomes a little more complicated once the inconvenient facts dribble out.…
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Distrust Simplistic Narratives about Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
by James A. Bacon Attorney General Mark Herring has long made an issue of the rise in hate crimes and white supremacy, which he has conflated as largely one and the same. As he runs a tough campaign for the Democratic Party nomination, he continues to put hate crimes front and center. Besides re-launching a…
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Northam Gets an Earful on Marijuana Legalization Bill
by D.J. Rippert Slow burn. The General Assembly passed marijuana legislation and sent it to the governor to sign. However, almost nobody seems satisfied with the bill as it is written. Now Governor Ralph Northam must decide whether to sign the bill, veto the bill, or ask for the bill to be amended. As he…
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Virginia’s Parole Board Is a Detestable Disgrace
by Kerry Dougherty Well, bless The Richmond-Times Dispatch. They’re doing real journalism up there in the capital and it’s infuriating to Democratic power brokers. They’ve got to keep their stories straight now. Not easy. Yes, over the weekend the TD published two stunning pieces about the curious behavior of Virginia’s all-Democrat Parole Board, a group apparently…
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Then They Came for the Gravestones
Vandals this weekend overturned numerous memorials and markers in Hollywood Cemetery, a historical cemetery overlooking the James River that is closely identified with the Old South. The historical graveyard, opened in 1847, is the final resting place of presidents James Monroe and John Tyler, six Virginia governors, two U.S. Supreme Court justices, and Confederate President…
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Another Depressing Ralph Northam Presser
by Kerry Dougherty Gov. Ralph Northam’s ability to gaslight Virginia was on display again at his Tuesday press conference. He indicated that he and his wife had visited schools that had recently reopened and that they were happy to see kids masked up and maintaining social distances from each other. Maybe the sight of kids…
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More Money, Same Level of Service
By Dick Hall-Sizemore There are often cries of anguish or outrage on this blog and elsewhere over the increases in spending proposed in budget proposals and then authorized by the General Assembly. Some of this criticism of increased spending is justified, but, sometimes, the increase is the result of circumstances beyond an agency’s control. Sometimes,…
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Virginia’s Double Standards for Justice
by James A. Bacon Twenty-year-old Manny Wilder has been sentenced to three years in prison for chasing a group of Black Lives Matter protesters in Virginia Beach with a hatchet, yelling the N-word, and driving towards the group in a pickup truck. He didn’t actually hurt anyone, but prosecutors charged him with four misdemeanors, including…
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Progressives’ Next Target: Life Without Parole
by James A. Bacon Progressives have all but won their battle to ban the death penalty in Virginia. Both houses of the General Assembly have voted to abolish Virginia’s death penalty, and Governor Northam is likely to sign the legislation. I’m OK with that. Our justice system is flawed. History has shown that too many…
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Criminal Justice Scorecard at Crossover
By Dick Hall-Sizemore With the General Assembly at the crossover break, now would be a good time to take stock of the status of major criminal justice and public safety legislation. Not surprisingly, the priorities identified by Democrats are faring well. Below is a summary of the actions taken on selected bills. For a more…
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Virginia’s Legendary Corruption Blocks Antitrust Enforcement
by James C. Sherlock Readers of this blog have indicated an unquenchable appetite for information about and discussion of Virginia’s Certificate of Public Need (COPN) law and its administration. This essay informs on the negative impacts of the COPN law and the Virginia Antitrust Act (the Act) itself on the enforcement of antitrust laws against Virginia’s…
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A Horse Built by a Committee
by James C. Sherlock Updated Jan 31 at 8:46 AM Virginia’s Attorney General has offered a bill to create a new state bureaucracy to handle the opioid settlement money about to flow into the Commonwealth to support prevention, treatment, and recovery. It is going to be a lot of money. The state opioid settlements will…
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Criminal Law and Public Safety Bills of Interest
By Dick Hall-Sizemore Despite recently having a special session to devote to criminal justice reform, the General Assembly has a healthy docket of criminal law and public safety reform bills to consider this session. I have selected a few to highlight below. Unless otherwise noted, the bills are still in their original committees. Democratic Priorities…