Courts Are Becoming More Willing To Question The Application Of Qualified Immunity For Police Officers
A sheriff’s deputy from Pulaski county was found to not have qualified immunity for mistakenly charging a woman with drug distribution. Qualified Immunity is a judicially created doctrine that gives certain government officials immunity from civil suits related to acts done in their job. The modern iteration of qualified immunity stems from the case Harlow v. Fitzgerald, where the court moved from a subjective good faith standard to forcing the plaintiff to show that the government official broke clearly established law. In general courts have moved toward a more government friendly position since Harlow v. Fitzgerald. With qualified immunity under more scrutiny today, it appears as if judges may be more willing to hear cases on their merits and not jettison them at summary judgement. Read More: https://valawyersweekly.com/2020/10/29/no-immunity-for-officer-who-charged-wrong-suspect/ Read Article
Long Overdue Reform Bill Moves Virginia Into The Majority Of States
For all of Virginia’s history, the Commonwealth has used jury sentencing in criminal trials.
Supreme Court-appointed Working Group Recommends Expanding The Court Of Appeals
The Chair of the Supreme Court-appointed working group had reached out to attorney Sheldon in August with several questions.
