Court Cases

ACLU of Virginia and Muslim Advocates filed an emergency complaint on behalf of Dwayne Law, Jr., a Muslim man incarcerated at a state prison in Baskerville, VA. The complaint asks a federal court to force the facility to provide him with meals before sunrise and after sunset so that he may observe the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. By refusing to allow Mr. Law to eat with other fasting Muslims during non-daylight hours, Baskerville Correctional Center staff and Warden David Zook are unconstitutionally forcing him to choose between eating to survive during the day or adhering to his deeply-held religious beliefs.

The ACLU of Virginia, along with the ACLU, the ACLU of North Carolina, and the North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, filed an amicus brief in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of Appellant-Plaintiff Charlie Hardin.

The ACLU of Virginia entered an appearance in a federal lawsuit on behalf of Randy Burke, an incarcerated person within the Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC). Mr. Burke is a practicing Rastafarian who was put in solitary confinement for over five years for refusing to cut his hair, even though cutting his hair would violate a tenet of his religion. During his time in solitary confinement, he was also denied opportunities to practice his religion, including receiving religious services, religious items, and holiday meals.

The ACLU of Virginia, along with the ACLU, the League of Women Voters of Virginia, and the National Black Nonpartisan Redistricting Organization, filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of Virginia in a case involving a challenge to House Bill 1255 (2020), a bill which set standards and criteria that the Virginia Redistricting Commission must follow when drawing new legislative districts, including the end of prison gerrymandering.

The ACLU of Virginia filed an amicus brief in the case of Commonwealth v. Galen Baughman in Arlington County Circuit Court. The brief supports Mr. Baughman’s assertion of his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination in response to an incriminating questionnaire required to be completed as part of his court-ordered treatment.

In the final days of 2020, the ACLU of Virginia filed an amicus brief in the case of Commonwealth of Virginia v. Harwinder Sangha in the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, which invited amici to address whether the Circuit Court should proceed with a misdemeanor trial even though the Commonwealth Attorney for Fairfax County, Steve Descano, had decided he would not—and could not ethically—dedicate valuable prosecutorial resources toward low-level misdemeanors such as the one in this case, given the sheer number of criminal cases his office handles.

The ACLU of Virginia joined a federal class action lawsuit as co-counsel with Charlottesville attorney Elliott Harding on behalf of 27 people who are incarcerated in Virginia prisons. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday, April 8 against Gov. Ralph Northam, Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran and other state officials. It alleges that Virginia is violating the U.S. Constitution by failing to decarcerate overcrowded facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and asks that the Commonwealth be ordered to immediately decrease the number of people in custody, implement policies for social distancing, and require staff members to wear personal protection equipment.