Political bias said to affect judicial choices

From VA Pilot click here to read the story.

The two open seats in Chesapeake Circuit Court have prompted the most maneuvering, according to several legislators.

Republican legislators favor prominent Chesapeake defense lawyer John Brown and city Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Judge Rufus A. Banks Jr., according to legislators close to the negotiations.

Several Democratic lawmakers have said they can support Brown, but not Banks, according to sources.

Initially they preferred Chesapeake Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Eileen Olds, but more recently substituted Norfolk Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Marjorie A. Arrington. Arrington confirmed her interest in the post last week.

Now see I would be happy if Olds was sent to Circuit court. That way every thing she does would be recorded and open to the public. I bet she doesn't want this post. Because her actions would be open to all to see. She wouldn't be able to hide behind close doors.

Domestic Violence & The Courtroom

First,
the judge must listen carefully and determine who is the victim. Your demeanor demonstrates to the victim that you are concerned about his or her circumstances and the underlying events. Judge Olds does this very well in her court, She only listens to the victim, and does listen at all to the defendant at all. Hell if you have a case in her court and the charges are against you, you just might as well say you are guilty since she won't listen to a word from you at all.

Second,
remember that the initial step toward stopping the abuse is being able to identify it as such. Denial, rationalization and minimization are coping methods by the abused person and those closest to the victim. The court must take whatever steps are necessary to insure that the victim finds safety. The judge should take advantage of all the resources available to provide comfort and safety for the victim.
The judge must recognize that the victim may be overwhelmed by the proceedings and unable to follow through with corrective steps the court might order. Once again she does this very well. In her court the victims are women period, even if the defendant can prove that the charges are false she will still find them guilty of the charge and send them off to jail.

Third,
the victim must trust you. One of the effects of battering is that the victim's sense of trust has been so eroded, that he or she can no longer perceive neutrality. To the victim accustomed to living in an environment where a mistake in judgment could be lethal, there is little room for poor judgment in the courtroom. The court must take a proactive approach so that the victim trusts the court and the judicial system. Where jurisdiction permits, appoint an understanding lawyer to represent the victim and explain the options. She gets the so-called victim to trust her by siding with her in court. Letting her know it's ok to lie in my court, I will find for you no matter what…

Fourth,
while a victim may understand the legal issues intellectually, he or she is on an emotional roller coaster. Comprehension of the available options becomes difficult. A judge must take time to explain the options available and to solicit sufficient feedback from the victim to insure that there is sufficient comprehension. She make sure they understand the law, by having ex-parte communications with the victim before and after the case is heard.

Fifth,
a victim may not want to make trouble and may appear very complacent in the courtroom even when he or she does not agree with what is taking place. A judge needs to take the time to ask for specific details. A victim may tend to accept responsibility for things that are not his or her fault, out of fear of further abuse. Frequently, a victim will accept inaccuracies in the record for similar reasons. A judge must make sure the court record is clear and complete. This may include affording the victim the opportunity to state any objections without fear and, if necessary, without the batterer being present. Judges must take great care to prevent dangerous or unfair settlements, custody and visitation orders. She only asks for details for the plaintiff side only. She doesn't care nor what to hear for the other side, since they will be found guilty anyway.

Sixth,
the atmosphere in the courtroom must be free of intimidation. It is easy to forget that the victim may have been exposed to years of intimidation. A judge can use his or her authority to the fullest extent of the law and enforce every relevant law in the case. They can also create a courtroom ambience that promotes "zero
tolerance" of domestic violence. For example, a judge can instruct bailiffs not to permit the litigants and related family members or friends to interact in an obtrusive manner during court recess. These loud family visits may be manipulative, coercive and inappropriate. A defendant will sometimes behave in a jovial manner or make vulgar comments about the victim during courtroom recess. Allowing this to happen sends a message of defiance to both the court and victim, and makes it appear that the defendant is immune to the court's authority. She only allows the so-called victim side to get loud and manipulative, and to have inappropriate outburst in court.

On Judicial Security

Eileen A. Olds, District Court Judge, Virginia, and AJA Secretary

Just after I had signed onto my computer to prepare the minutes of our recent midyear meeting, I was reminded again of how security concerns continue to plague judges and justices across this country.

"You are a lousy judge, and you should be removed from the bench" appeared as an instant message on my computer monitor from someone screen-named "Sinkiss." All kinds of thoughts crossed my mind: Isn't it 8:56 p.m. on a Thursday night? Am I not signed onto my home personal computer? Why is there a litigant even thinking about me at this hour? Isn't it a shame that personal information regarding judges is up for grabs to almost anyone without permission or scrutiny?

If you did your job fairly and just, then you shouldn't have thing to worryg about. Someone calling you a lousy judge is not a death threat it's a damn statement! A litigant could have been think about your sorry ass on that day, at the time for some other reason, maybe a child birthday, which he can't spend with his child due to your unending bais against fathers. Talking about that so called personal information about judges then I would suggest that you don't post your personal information the website. Yes the web, ie, your sorority web pages that list your name and email address. State sites that list your official email address on their website.. Virginia Pilot that wrote about your appointment to the bench, and other items dealing with you. Public groups where you were, are going to a public speaker at.

When individuals began prying into information that is not generally for public dissemination, or that we have not made available to them, it raises suspicion and should not be ignored. Until now, "Sinkiss" had never contacted me personally. I have known of his existence for approximately two months, as he maintains a "Blogspot" (a personal diary that he chronicles on the Internet) titled "My Fight in Family Court Chesapeake Virginia" dedicated to describing his experiences within the court system. He does not know that I am aware of this.

So was this the reason you finially took your sorry ass off my case. You stated the reason was you had third party info about this case. Please you had information giving to you many time from a third party that you even stated to the fact that you have receive said info in court many time. You never took you ass off then.

Had this been in years past, I may not have given it much thought. Incidents such as the recent Atlanta courthouse murders and the Chicago federal judge's slain family, however, remind me that what at first glance may look like an innocent or curious act can actually end with tragic results. I am concerned about these types of encroachments into our personal lives. We all should be. We should not have to juggle safety concerns and bear the awesome responsibilities and duties of our positions while at work, in addition to dodging threats to our personal safety in our homes. That is why the AJA president Gayle Nachtigal should be applauded for publicly responding immediately after those recent horrifying events. She should also be commended for actively participating in the National Center for State Courts' summit on court security held thereafter. It is not just within the confines of our courtrooms that we must be vigilant with security issues. That, and other issues confronting the judiciary, is also why our coming together for AJA annual and midyear meetings has taken on greater significance. It is important now more than ever that judges have a forum for addressing concerns that are distinctive to them. The American Judges Association is no longer just an organization that caters to judicial education and camaraderie; it serves as the advocate and the outlet that all judges need.

Face it you know you shouldn't be on the bench at all in family court, since you have shown that you don't fully pay attention to the case infront of you, for this reason is why JDR courts are not courts of records. So in them you can hide your illegal actions and your bias against fathers. You sanction baby selling and give a Female rapist of a 14 yo a P.R Bond. Where if it was a man you would have order a higher bond it not just right out jail til trial.

See how things are done in Chesapeake, va

Drunk Driving Charge After Crash, Leaving Scene, Against Chesapeake Virginia Police Officer Michael “Greg” Rowe Tossed, Despite “Sufficent” EvidencePosted by Published in VIRGINIA

CHESAPEAKE, VIRGINIA - A drunk driving charge against a city police officer was thrown out of court Tuesday - although prosecutors believed they had a strong enough case to warrant a conviction.

Officer Michael “Greg” Rowe was facing a misdemeanor DUI charge after his arrest in the early hours of May 19 on Butts Station Road. Rowe was driving his 2004 Ford Expedition when it ran off the road and hit a tree. Rowe abandoned the vehicle, police said, and was found at his home.

Read The Full Article

From another source

HAMPTON ROADS, VIRGINIA - An illegal immigrant was sentenced to a year in prison on Monday for having sex with a 13-year-old girl and producing nude images of the child.
[Feel free to send this sorry-ass judge an email at epgrissom@worldnet.att.net]
Carlos De La Cruz Ramos, formerly of the 3700 block of S. Military Hwy. in Chesapeake, was arrested in May after a Wal-Mart store clerk processed film he had dropped off that showed images of a nude child, police said. Ramos was convicted in August of producing child pornography and carnal knowledge, both felonies carrying maximum punishments of 10 years in prison.
Read The Full Article

I was once in front of this damn ass myself, he is nolonger on the brench, yes the old fucker retired...

VIRGINIA JUSTICE SYSTEM FUND FAMILY COURTS

The Virginia family-court system sorely needs fixing.

Currently, family matters are divided between Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts, which handle delinquency and some custody and support matters, and Circuit Courts, which are responsible for divorces, adoptions and annulments.

The system is such that a dissolving family may find itself fighting in two different courts at the same time, over related matters. And if a decision is appealed from Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, the case goes to Circuit Court to be tried anew: an expensive and useless repetition. Furthermore, the two different courts follow different rules and procedures.

If a state sought a family-courts system as expensive, time-consuming and confusing as possible, it might use Virginia's for a model.

The present system was supposed to be fixed by the 1993 Family Court Act, which provided for new Family Courts to handle family matters. Civil cases appealed from Family Courts would go to the state Court of Appeals, where the lower-court record would be reviewed but the case would not be retried.

The Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts would convert to Family Courts, and about 18 percent of the Circuit Court workload would go to Family Courts. Thirty-two new judges would be appointed. Costs were to be met by increasing court fees a few dollars.

In 1990 and 1991, 10 test Family Courts, including one in Chesapeake, had proved highly successful. A survey of litigants showed far more satisfaction with Family Court than with the dual system of Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts and Circuit Courts.

The 10 pilot Family Courts were faster, cheaper and more prone to use mediation than other courts. They lessened the agony of families breaking apart.

The 1994 General Assembly was expected to approve the court fee to set up the Family Courts, but everything went wrong in the heat of partisan politics.

Gov. George F. Allen was new in office, having campaigned against increasing taxes. The court-fee increase looked to him like a tax increase. Also, Republicans knew that if they approved Family Court funding, the Democrats, holding the slim majority, would name all 32 new judges statewide.

Many Democrats cooled on the Family Court proposal, saying they didn't want to pass a fee increase that Allen would veto, while accusing them of trying to hike taxes.

Nothing happened in 1995. This session, bills have been introduced in both houses to fund the Family Courts, now creating 33 judgeships. The Senate Courts of Justice Committee passed the Family Court bill last Thursday. It now goes to the Senate Finance Committee for review.

The bill is the No. 1 priority of Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court Harry L. Carrico, whose duties include heading the Virginia court system. It is a high priority of the Virginia Bar Association, the League of Women Voters of Virginia, the Virginia Federation of Women's Clubs, and Action Alliance for Virginia's Children and Youth, an umbrella group for organizations supporting children.

If partisan politics again block the Family Courts, Virginians will have every reason to be upset, for the personal agony and needless expense and delays of the current dual-court family system will continue.

 

Old Story but a good one

Drug bust leads to huge police corruption probe

(CNN) -- The investigation that exposed an allegedly corrupt Virginia sheriff's department began with a package containing vials of a date-rape drug.

Although Drug Enforcement Administration agents didn't know it at the time, the package was shipped to a house that belonged to a sergeant with the Henry County Sheriff's Office.

According to a grand jury indictment, the DEA intercepted the package, delivered it undercover and arrested self-described middleman William Randall Reed in March 2005. Reed agreed to cooperate and quickly pointed the finger at Sgt. James Allen Vaught.

Reed said he paid Vaught with cash and Ketamine, the so-called date rape drug, to use the house as a drug drop. The house also was used by other members of the sheriff's office for parties and extramarital trysts, the federal indictment states.

Reed also told authorities that he had helped Vaught sell cocaine the deputy had seized from a suspect.

Vaught resigned from the department soon after Reed's arrest and, a few months later, agreed to cooperate with investigators. He admitted to Reed's allegations and agreed to wear a wire to record conversations with his former colleagues.

The result was a 48-count indictment unsealed Thursday with the arrests of longtime Sheriff Harold Franklin Cassell and 17 others. A dozen of them wore or had worn the uniform of the Henry County Sheriff's Office. (Watch a prosecutor describe 'disgraceful' corruption -- 2:13 )

Some of them are accused of stealing cocaine, marijuana and weapons from suspects and the sheriff's evidence property room and selling the contraband to criminals, who put it back on the street.

Others are accused of distributing steroids and weapons, including a machine gun with an obliterated serial number.

The indictment says the corruption had been going on since 1998.

"These were drugs and guns that were seized as part of their law enforcement duties that were then stolen from the property room and put back out on the streets," U.S. Attorney John L. Brownlee said.

"You have law enforcement [officers] risking their lives to take these guns off the streets and then a very few members of law enforcement putting them right back out there."

Cassell was elected sheriff of county, population 58,000, in 1992. His department employs 122 people, 96 of them sworn law enforcement officers.

Today, in the wake of the indictment, the sheriff's office is being run by the Virginia State police.

Besides the sheriff, those named in the indictment include a captain, three sergeants, eight deputies -- including two vice officers -- a former employee of the U.S. postal service and a former probation officer.

One deputy, Walter R. Hairston, allegedly gave Vaught marijuana and cocaine he used to train the department's drug-sniffing dogs. The contraband was then sold, the indictment says.

According to the indictment, the DEA called to report a drug shipment to a "Brad Martin's house" in 2001. The call was taken by Martin, a sheriff's deputy.

Martin, Hairston and four other deputies, along with alleged drug dealer Wilbert Herman Brown, are accused in the indictment of racketeering. They allegedly made up a corrupt organization that stole and distributed drugs, including crack cocaine, and obstructed justice.

Cassell was told by authorities about the shipment to Martin's house, as well as other allegations of illegal activity in the department, and did nothing, the indictment alleges.

Instead, according to the indictment, Cassell tipped off targets of the investigation, lied to investigators and helped Vaught launder drug profits.

Henry County, hard against the North Carolina line in Virginia's southern Piedmont region, is perhaps best known for the Martinsville Speedway, where NASCAR races are held twice a year. It used to boast it was the "sweatshirt capital of the world," according to The Associated Press.

The county's textile and furniture industries have seen better times, and its unemployment rate is higher than the state average.

Does the VA flag Violate VA Beach City code

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - Police confiscated two display photos of scantily clad men and a woman from an Abercrombie & Fitch store and cited the manager on a misdemeanor obscenity charge, authorities said.

fine with that said, then I guess this summer I shouldn't see any g-string bathing suit on the beach, no butt cracks at all and I better not see the state flag in the air, with its female warrior breast out in the open

"A deep blue field contains the seal of Virginia with the Latin motto " Sic Semper Tyrannis" - "Thus Always to Tyrants". Adopted in 1776. The two figures are acting out the meaning of the motto. Both are dressed as warriors. The woman, Virtue, represents Virginia. The man holding a scourge and chain shows that he is a tyrant. His fallen crown is nearby."

VA - Alicia's Law suffers a defeat in the House of Delegates

02/07/2008

A defeat for a law that would protect children from online sexual predators in the House of Delegates.

Alicia's Law is named for a woman who was sexually assaulted when she was 13 by an online sexual predator from Virginia. The law would've provided money for more investigators and create three forensic computer labs.

Law enforcement agencies say they know of more than 19,000 computers in Virginia where hard core child pornography is being stored and shared, but say they don't have the resources to go after them.

An identical bill sponsored by Bath County Senator Creigh Deeds is still awaiting approval for funding in the Senate

Yet they have the resources to go after those who fall behind in child support. I guess child support is more of an issue then child porn in VA, since they get money for the Fed's for child support and not for going after child porn makers...... VA is really becoming a Fuckup State to work or to live.

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Federal judge rules prisoners cannot be forced to sleep on floor to ease overcrowding

I can only hope some one in VA jails like Chesapeake force them to get more bunks

View the article here

This happens everywhere. And yeah, it's cruel & unusual, so thank God this was deemed unconstitutional. Wonder if anything will change? I doubt it.

So sleeping on the floor in jail or prison is "cruel and unusual" punishment, but if you are a sex offender and made to sleep in a tent by a riverbed or under a bridge, that is not? Sounds like more double-standard BS to me.

09/24/2007 LOS ANGELES — A federal judge has ruled that forcing county jail inmates to sleep on the floor to relieve overcrowding is unconstitutional.

U.S District Judge Dean D. Pregerson said in a ruling released Friday that jail officials violated inmates' right to protection from cruel and unusual punishment, and were guilty of "deliberate indifference" for failing to provide them with bunks.

"This is quite an extraordinary ruling," said attorney Stephen Yagman, who represented prisoners involved in a class-action lawsuit. "I've never seen anything like it."

Attorney Paul B. Beach, who represented the county in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a telephone message left seeking comment early Monday by The Associated Press. He declined comment to the Los Angeles Times on Sunday.

Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said the practice of having inmates sleep on the floor "is over, and has been for a while now."
- Yeah right! I'll believe that when I see it. You could probably walk into any jail or correctional facility and find this right now.

The lawsuit covers inmates who were forced to sleep on the floor from December 2000 to May 2005. Yagman said Sunday that he had two other class-action cases involving inmates who were allegedly forced to sleep on floors from May 2005 to as recently as this year.

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Admitted child molester (COP) gets 45 years -- all suspended

View the article here

Because he's a cop! That is why! Total BS! MAJOR SLAP ON THE WRIST HERE! Protecting the "Good Ole' Boys!"

10/04/2007

NEWPORT - A former Newport News police officer pleaded guilty Thursday to six counts of indecent liberties with children under 14, getting a 45-year prison sentence -- with all 45 years suspended.

Randolph Drew Smith, now 60, admitted to three
counts of fondling a teenage boy in 1982 and three counts of doing the
same with a different teenage boy between 1994 and 1995. All counts
occurred while he was a police officer.

According to a detailed summary provided at the Newport News Circuit Court hearing Wednesday, five
of the incidents involved, in part, Smith bringing the boys to climax
while they were lying with him in his bed -- and once suggesting that
one of the boys do the same to him.

The Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, in a plea agreement, agreed that Smith would get no time in prison in return for pleading guilty to the crime.

The plea agreement, accepted wholly by Circuit Court Judge Timothy S. Fisher, also requires Smith to get supervised probation for two years,
maintain good behavior for 15 years, have no direct contact with either
victim or "any juvenile males" aside from relatives who are supervised
by another adult.

He must also submit a sample of his DNA to the state, get treatment in a sex offender program and register with the state's sex offender list.

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OT: Judge throws out case against Chesapeake circuit court clerk

See the courts staff take care of their own. These companies pay research to research land deeds before the sell of any land, so in fact 90% of the work required is done by outside source, then why should it take so long for the clerk to o their job, it should.. However I bet they inform the tax office ASAP so they can make sure they get their money...

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CHESAPEAKE – A judge has thrown out a lawsuit against Chesapeake’s Circuit Court Clerk Faye Mitchell over her office’s backlog in processing land transactions two years ago.

Visiting Circuit Judge Pamela Baskerville stopped the lawsuit by title company ReQuire LLC of Virginia Beach from proceeding Wednesday. She ruled that the company had no standing to file for damages. In the lawsuit, ReQuire argued that state law provides for damages if documents called “certificates of satisfactions’’ are not properly and timely recorded.

Mitchell’s attorney, Jeff Rosen of the Pender & Coward lawfirm, argued that the case should be dropped because the title company had not suffered any specific damages. Rosen also argued that the state law applied to the actual property owners who may have suffered damages.

“The clerk is pleased with the court’s ruling and believes that the case lacked any merit from the start,’’ Rosen said.

At the time of the lawsuit, the backlog problem existed for several years and grew worse during the city’s housing boom two years ago. Before Mitchell took office in 2004, former clerk Lillie Hart called the staffing level in her deeds office inadequate and blamed the situation on state budget cuts.