Part 1 | Progressive Prosecutors Urge State Lawmakers To Enact Justice Reforms

By Leonard E. Colvin
Chief Reporter
New Journal and Guide

        “We have two systems of justice—we have one for Black people…and one for white people. Black People have always suffered …suffered…suffered because of

the criminal justice system.”

        These were  the words of  Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Greg Underwood at a “Pray and Park” event organized by  First Baptist Church Lambert’s Point in Norfolk on June 4.

    Underwood and other civic leaders spoke at the event, held  in the church’s parking  due to COVID 19.

      Underwood’s words stuck out because  of his position and that it was the first time in  history, the person who held that office spoke out and conveyed an emotional view of the disparities Black and poor people face in  the criminal justice system.

    Black leaders familiar with Underwood’s statement, feared widespread condemnation of the city’s first Black Commonwealth’s Attorney, who first elected in 2009.

        He will not seek re-election and his declaration was met with praise and support.

         Seven days before Underwood made his speech,  he saw the video of a white  Minneapolis policemen  kneeling on the neck of George Floyd for nearly nine minutes, leading to Floyd’s death.

    Floyd was apprehended by four police officers after a deli owner called 911 and accused him of passing a counterfeit $20 bill.

   The deaths of Floyd on May 25, along with Breonna Taylor in Louisville, and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia,  all within weeks of each other, have lit  the flames for a new civil rights movement.

Advertisement

    Fueled by the Black Lives Matters (BLM) network,  the NAACP, and other new and racially diverse groups, activists have taken to the streets since.

They are demanding criminal justice reform and an end of “Blue on Black and Brown brutality and murder.”

         Underwood said Floyd could have been “any Black person, including his children or grandchildren…if nothing is done.”

    But even before his declaration June 5,  Underwood had already secured a ticket on the  train of reform.

    Last year, Underwood   at a meeting of the Virginia Association of  Commonwealth’s Attorneys (VACA) voiced his concerns about disparities in the criminal justice system.

The VACA, a mostly white and politically conservative  group, brushed off his assertions.

    Last year, due to the long-standing disparities impacting disproportionately, poor and Black people in the city, Underwood’s office declared it would not  prosecute,

defendants in circuit court who appealed their misdemeanor marijuana possession charges  from district court.

    Norfolk’s eight Circuit Court judges and the Virginia Supreme  Court rebuffed his efforts at historic  marijuana decriminalization.

But  the recent political blue wave  in Virginia gave state Democrats the keys to the legislative vehicle.

Advertisement

  Earlier  this year Virginia  lawmakers passed, and Governor Ralph Northam signed a bill decriminalizing marijuana possession in Virginia.

Now an  individual caught with weed will face a $25 fine and no jail time.

         Along with the General Assembly, a  month after Underwood uttered those revealing words on June 4,    others have bought  tickets to ride the reformist express.

    In November of 2019, other reform-minded Commonwealth’s Attorneys were elected in other parts of Virginia.

        They were white or claimed other nationalities other than white.

    They joined Underwood and progressive Hampton,  Portsmouth, Alexandria, Charlottesville, and Henrico Counties to form the 11-member  Virginia Progressive

Prosecutors for Justice (VPPJ).

   Ramin Fatehi is Norfolk’s Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney. He is also the Chair, Criminal Justice Reform Working Group, tasked with hashing out other reforms.

   Fatehi said the death of George Floyd,  the  reformist minded legislature, the Governor and the Attorney General were  key motivations behind  Underwood and other VPPJ members’ movement.

    Fatehi said the VPPJ is among the  groups  converging on the state capital this week, urging lawmakers to pass  a  list of judicial reforms  during the special legislative session which started August 18.

Advertisement

    In a letter dated July 13, the VPPJ laid out its position supporting reforms devised by the state Senate leaders and the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus (VLBC).

        “We are a group  of Commonwealth’s Attorneys who represent and are responsible for the safety of over 40 percent of the population of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” the signees said in the  letter.

“As the national dialogue and push for meaning systemic change within criminal justice  and policing continues, we submit this letter to you as a statement of our commitment to these changes and meaningful reforms and our willingness to be partners in offering our

assistance  to you and your colleagues as you propose and implement these critically needed reforms.”

      The VPPJ said it would offer support notably for

“measures related to police accountability, for use of force, misconduct, and other behavior-related complaints. In this area, VPPJ seeks requirements to allow prosecutors unrestricted access to  all police reports, information, and

disciplinary records of officers involved in a matter before the court.”

        Also, the group supports requirements that “all warrants be served during the daytime and include a ‘knock and announcement’ provision”.

         This proposal is a reference to the incident involving

Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African American emergency medical technician, fatally shot eight times

Advertisement

by three Louisville Police officers on March 13, 2020, executing a no-knock search warrant  on her apartment.

         Other VPPJ proposals  include expunging convictions from the court records to give individuals  a

“second chance”. Also, they are calling for expanding  deferred disposition  in all cases where the attorney for the accused, and  prosecutor agree.

Hampton’s Commonwealth’s Attorney  Anton Bell said the current version of the General Assembly is the best

opportunity for reform-minded prosecutors to effect wholesale change in the criminal justice system.

Bell was born in Norfolk, and is an NSU graduate and North Carolina Central University Law School graduate,    He honed his skills under Martin Bullock, Portsmouth’s first Black prosecutor.

Bell said progressive prosecutors and the Civil Rights

community are hoping the General Assembly will address “Qualified Immunity”,   a huge hurdle in holding police accountable when accused of brutality.

    Democratic party  Delegates Jay Jones of Norfolk and  Jeff Bourne  of Richmond  are  working on a bill  related to the issue.

    The two lawmakers believe qualified immunity sets an ‘extremely high’ bar preventing victims or their families if they are killed, from being compensated in civil lawsuits against officers.

Advertisement

While finding an officer criminally responsible for the death of a submissive and  unarmed civilian like George Floyd, a civil lawsuit is the only other option

  Defense attorneys must be able to point to a  similar-previous case where an officer’s actions are deemed unconstitutional.

That can tie the hands of the courts, even when an officer has acted in bad faith, said Bell.