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.

UVa Student's Lawsuit Against ABC to Continue

Looks like Bud Light to me!

Part of a UVa student's $40 million lawsuit against ABC agents has survived the defendants' motion to dismiss.  The well publicized case arose out of an incident in the parking lot of the Harris Teeter in Barrack's Road Shopping Center in Charlottesville.  Undercover ABC agents attempted to arrest the UVa student when they mistook her sparkling water for beer.  Frightened and confused by the ABC agents, the UVa student drove off in her car as the ABC agents banged on the window and drew a firearm.  After calling 911 to report the incident, the UVa student was arrested for assaulting the agents and spent a night in jail before prosecutors quickly dismissed all charges.  The UVa student is now suing the ABC agents and the State for a variety of claims, many of which were dismissed by Judge Hudson's ruling on the motion to dismiss.  However, Judge Hudson allowed the claims for false arrest, malicious prosecution and assault against three of the seven ABC agents to continue.  Judge Hudson also directed her attorneys to merge those claims into a claim that the plaintiff's constitutional rights had been violated.  The claims against the State and claim for conspiracy to commit false prosecution were dismissed.  Although the case arose in Charlottesville, the case is pending in the Richmond Division of the Eastern District of Virginia.  More information can be found in the Richmond Times Dispatch article about Judge Hudson's ruling.

WDVa Judge Certifies Class Action in Same Sex Marriage Case

Judge Michael Urbanski has certified as a class action a lawsuit challenging Virginia's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.  This WDVa lawsuit, filed by the ACLU on behalf of two Shenandoah Valley couples, is proceeding parallel with a similar action in the EDVa (Norfolk).  Given the speed of the "rocket docket," the EDVa case is expected to be decided before the WDVa action, although both are destined for review by the Fourth Circuit.

Newly sworn-in Attorney General Mark Herring made news last week by deciding not to defend the ban because he wanted to put Virginia "on the right side of history."  Herring specifically referenced Virginia's sordid history opposing school desegregation, opposing interracial marriage, and insiting upon single-sex education at Virginia Military Institute.

As a native Virginian, I remember some of these battles and live with the history of others.  For example, my daughter goes to one of the public schools that Governor Lindsay Almond decided to close in 1958 instead of obeying federal Judge John Paul's order to desegregate Lane High School and Venable Elementary in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Massive resistance is a dark stain on Virginia's proud history.  Regardless of how the same-sex marriage cases are resolved, I am confident that we will not have the same state political resistance to federal court rulings.