Lawsuits Continue Against Central Virginia Regional Jail

Two federal lawsuits are proceeding against the Central Virginia Regional Jail for civil rights violations of inmates.  One case is brought by the mother of an inmate who died in CVRJ custody allegedly due to lack of medical care.  Thornhill v. Aylor, et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-00024, (WD.Va.) The other case is brought by a former inmate who claims she had medication withheld while at jail that resulted in a psychotic break and hospitalization at Western State Hospital in Staunton.  Jenkins v. Aylor, et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-00046 (W.D.Va.).  Both cases are pending before Judge Conrad in the Charlottesville Division of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia.  The jail, located in the Town of Orange, serves the surrounding counties of Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison and Orange.

In February 2016, Judge Conrad granted in part and denied in part the defendants' motions to dismiss the Thornhill case.  The Court dismissed the class action claim after finding there was insufficient "commonality" among the proposed class members.  The Court dismissed the individual claims against some of the defendants, but allowed others to go forward after finding that there was "sufficient factual allegations to support the claim that there was an official policy of deliberate indifference at CVRJ, specifically based on [the Superintendent's] inactions as its policy maker."  The Court determined that arguments as to sovereign immunity and qualified immunity would be heard at a later stage of the litigation.

Similarly, in the Jenkins case, the plaintiff brought the suit as a class action, but the defendants have filed motions to dismiss the class action claim and portions of other claims.  Those motions were heard by the Court on March 23, 2016.  An interesting issue that was argued at the hearing was whether the Central Virginia Regional Jail Authority is entitled to sovereign immunity.  Defense attorney argued that the five counties that comprise the authority each have sovereign immunity and would retain sovereign immunity if they operated their own separate jails; therefore, there should be immunity for the regional jail authority.  Plaintiff's counsel, however, argued that the authority itself does not meet the all of the standards for sovereign immunity, even thought its constituent members would have immunity.  The Court reserved judgment and will issue rulings on the motions at a later date.

You can read more about the lawsuits here and here.

Judge Moon and Civil Rights Lawsuits Against Bedford County Public Schools

Judge Moon has ruled on two cases in the past month involving constitutional civil rights issues and public schools.

In L.E.A. v. Bedford County School Board, Judge Moon denied a preliminary injunction prohibiting the School Board from closing Body Camp Elementary School pursuant to its redistricting plan.  Plaintiffs argued that the decision to close Body Camp -- which has a higher percentage of African American students than other elementary schools that were not closed -- violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Judge Moon, however, denied the requested preliminary injunction after determining that plaintiffs failed to establish a likelihood of success on the merits.  The Court pointed to evidence

"that the School Board closed Body Camp because the school's long-term maintenance needs were substantially greater than those at Moneta Elementary School [the other school under consideration for closing], which is supported by the findings in [an independent consultant's] review.  Moreover, the circumstances surrounding the School Board's decision do not necessarily indicate an intent to discriminate against minority students."

In R.M.B. v. Bedford County School Board, Judge Moon considered another civil rights action brought by a student claiming that his 364-day suspension from Bedford Middle School violated the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.

The student was suspended for possession of marijuana after the assistant principal found "crumpled leaves" and a lighter in his backpack after hearing rumors that the student was bragging about possessing marijuana.  A sheriff's deputy and school resource officer field tested the leaves twice and the results were negative for marijuana.  Plaintiff claims that he and his parents were not told about the negative test results at the suspension hearing, and only learned about them when the criminal charges were dismissed.  Judge Moon denied the defendant's motion to dismiss the student's civil rights case and is allowing the case against some of the individual defendants to proceed to discovery, although the claims against the School Board were dismissed.

I should disclose that my father is a member of the Bedford County School Board and that many years ago, prior to law school and before the age of zero tolerance policies, I was a teacher at Bedford Middle School.