Court Cases

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.

The American Civil Liberties Union, Public Citizen, and ACLU of Virginia filed an amicus brief urging a state circuit court to keep anonymous the identity of “Devin Nunes’ cow,” a Twitter parody account.