Republicans sue Governor Warner over tax increases

One element of the budget debate I never noticed before just now is that a group of Republican delegates has sued the governor, on some theory that the tax increases in his budget proposal are illegal, as reported at the end of this article ("House panel pushes for voters’ OK of higher taxes," 3/20/04) in the Norfolk paper, which says:

"Attaching the referendum to the budget is particularly controversial this year because seven Republican delegates are suing Gov. Mark R. Warner for trying to raise taxes through his budget proposal.

They argue that the state constitution prohibits the budget from being used for any purpose other than to spend revenues available through existing taxes. Their lawsuit suggests that a referendum also cannot be legally included in a state budget.

Del. John J. Welch III, R-Virginia Beach, is one of the lawmakers who has signed onto the lawsuit.

Senators followed Warner’s lead and wrote their tax increases into their own budget proposal.

House members, however, stripped all tax increases out of Warner’s budget proposal. They then erased some of the governor’s spending suggestions and adopted a separate bill that provides revenues from corporate taxes to balance their budget."

I guess the implication of the article is that somebody ought to file another lawsuit challenging a budget that comes with a referendum requirement attached.

High school gives up on opposition to anti-abortion t-shirt

As reported here, Denbigh H.S. in Newport News have backed down from its opposition to a student's pro-life t-shirt.

On Virginia's new anti-gay marriage or other arrangement legislation

Overlawyered has this post comparing Virginia to the Tennessee county that wanted to outlaw gay people.

The new Virginia law is HB 751. The final version, as amended, passed the Senate by a vote of 28-10 and the House by 77-21, and what it says is this: "A civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage is prohibited. Any such civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement entered into by persons of the same sex in another state or jurisdiction shall be void in all respects in Virginia and any contractual rights created thereby shall be void and unenforceable."

The next step, I predict, would be for the legislature to make it a criminal offense, akin to fraud or false pretenses, to obtain (or attempt to obtain) money or property or anything of value in Virginia on the basis of a claim of same sex marriage, civil union, partnership contract or "other arrangement." Maybe that's being saved for next year.

Delegates Johnson and Phillips join with Republicans in House budget vote

Two of the three Democrats who joined with the Republicans in Saturday's renewal of the House budget vote were from Southwest Virginia, as shown here.

Virginia Beach firm acts to collect $75,000 in fees from Christian Coalition

The Norfolk paper reports here ("Law firm takes action to get Christian Coalition to pay bills," 3/20/04) on the collection efforts of a Virginia Beach law firm against its client, the Christian Coalition.

Democrats in General Assembly sue over eavesdropping?

As reported here ("Democrats file lawsuit over eavesdropping scandal," 3/19/04) in the Danville paper, "General Assembly Democrats have filed a lawsuit against the Republican Party of Virginia and several GOP operatives and elected officials in connection with the unresolved eavesdropping scandal." The AP's report is here. The suit was filed in federal court in Richmond. The lead lawyer is said to be Ken Smurzynski of Williams & Connolly, the famous firm that represented Oliver North and Bill Clinton, among others.

It is not apparent to me what is the theory of the case, or why there is federal jurisdiction.

Judge Moon wants to know about leaks in Rice case

As reported here ("Rice judge wants explanation of how sealed information was released," 3/20/04) in the Roanoke paper, Judge Moon of the W.D. Va. is investigating alleged leaks of confidential information in connection with the Shenandoah National Forest murder case.

Law school shooting plaintiffs seek recusal of all 29th and 30th Circuit judges

According to the latest on the suit against ASL brought by Mr. Yeary, plaintiffs are seeking a judge from out of the area, because nearly all of the local judges have some affiliation with the law school, as reported here ("Grundy school ties prompt request for outside judge in case," 3/20/04) in the Roanoke paper.

Discrimination plaintiff dismissed for failure to give discovery

The Kingsport paper (registration required) reports here ("Judge dismisses lawsuit against ETSU ," 3/20/04) on the dismissal of employment discrimination claims against ETSU, where Judge Greer based the dismissal on the plaintiff's failure to respond to written discovery requests.

On relief from default

In DirecTV, Inc. v. Aiken, Judge Michael granted the defendant relief from a default judgment under Rule 60(b).

The expendable man

Yesterday at the BLI meeting, the most interesting part was the provocative lecture by the author of An Expendable Man: The Near-Execution of Earl Washington, Jr. The author, Margaret Edds, was I think nervous yet determined in her remarks before a roomful of judges and lawyers, and her presentation was one I won't soon forget. I may have to buy the book.

The Richmond paper has this article ("Judge unseals files on rapist," 3/20/04) on the court-ordered release of law enforcement records about the man shown by DNA tests to be the likely perpetrator of some crime against Rebecca Williams, the woman Washington was convicted of murdering. The AP reports here on continued efforts to clear Washington's name finally and completely.

Wanted - new bunch from the old party

The Norfolk paper has this story ("Republican from Beach places ad to recruit prospective state leaders," 3/18/04) about an advertisement placed by a constitutional officer in the Tidewater who wants a different bunch of Republicans in Richmond.

Lots of good games to watch on TV today

The Norfolk paper reports here ("Delegates work 21 minutes, long enough to claim expenses," 3/18/04) that the House of Delegates got in 21 minutes of work before calling it a day - and it was a good day for it, with the start of the NCAA tournament.

This piece from the Richmond paper studies the similarities between the NCAA tournament and the General Assembly session.

Conjunction junction, what's your function?

As pointed out here by How Appealing, in the case of RCI Technology Corp. v. Sunterra Corp., the Fourth Circuit in an opinion by Judge King joined by Judges Widener and Luttig held that "or" does not mean "and" when construing 11 U.S.C. 365(c).

The words to the "Conjunction Junction'' song can be found here.

Magistrate judge rules against medicating inmate, who then threatens to kill her

In U.S. v. Evans, Judge Jones recites that after the Magistrate Judge ruled that it would not be right to medical the defendant to make him competent for trial, in part because his time behind bars had already exceeded the sentence he might get if convicted, the incompetent inmate threatened to kill the Magistrate Judge, adding the possibility of another 10 years in prison for that offense, and so now the judge concludes that the inmate should be made competent to stand trial.

I don't often think about the fact that these judges and magistrate judges - every one of them - get these kinds of threats throughout their careers.

Let Terry and William thrash it out

The Kingsport paper (registration required) submits in this story ("Wampler, Kilgore exemplify Senate, House impasse," 3/18/04) that the split within the outlooks of the Republicans in the General Assembly is personified in the differences between Senator William Wampler and Delegate Terry Kilgore, the head men of the local Republicans.

Those vacationing legislators

Governor Warner threw another log on the fire, recalling them into session with this speech, that accused the General Assembly of going off on vacation while there was work still to be done.

A conviction for brandishing a firearm not the same as a conviction for using it

The Norfolk paper has this article ("Ex-airport worker wins case against government," 3/17/04) on a fellow who defended on appeal the dismissal of criminal charges against him for making a false statement on an application to work at the Norfolk airport. The opinion from the Fourth Circuit was U.S. v. Baer. Even so, the man might never get his old job back, as the management at the airport has now learned the details of his criminal conviction in state court, and a member of management was quoted as saying, "I was somewhat concerned when I found out that he had fired a weapon into a vehicle with people in it."

Which town has the fewest rats and skunks in Virginia?

The word "skunks" appears only once in the Virginia Code, in Va. Code 15.2-2403(13), which specifically authorizes the service district for the Town of Front Royal "to construct, maintain and operate facilities, equipment and programs as may be necessary or desirable to control, eradicate and prevent the infestation of rats and removal of skunks and the conditions that harbor them."

I suppose in other localities, where the service districts lack these special powers, the rats and skunks are running wild.

Justice Scalia on planning ahead

In his speech at the College of William & Mary, as reported here ("Scalia: Little merit in 'living Constitution'," 3/17/04) in the Richmond paper, Justice Scalia commented that he never planned to be a Supreme Court justice. "I haven't calculated very much in my life," he said, "or I wouldn't have nine kids, would I?" As reported here ("Supreme Court is a political institution, Scalia says at W&M," 3/17/04) in the Norfolk paper, Justice Scalia explained that his originalist view of the Constitution leaves him with less room to maneuver to strike down things that he otherwise would not like, like flag-burning.