Tag Archives: State: Virginia

News from The Associated Press: The Virginia state Senate passed legislation Thursday allowing private adoption agencies to deny placements that conflict with their religious or moral beliefs, including opposition to homosexuality.

If you happen to be around Charlottesville tomorrow, Friday, February 10, you might want to come over to a symposium on how to resolve conflicting legal norms in US and foreign courts . . .

GoDanRiver.com: A federal judge has given the Pittsylvania County woman behind the ACLU’s lawsuit against the board of supervisors 30 days to reveal her name.

Altavista Journal: A federal judge on Friday issued a preliminary injunction barring the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors from opening meetings with Christian prayers pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

LifeNews.com: The Virginia state Senate has approved a bill, on a 21-18 margin, that allows women a chance to see an ultrasound of their unborn child before an abortion — something abortion facilities don’t always allow.

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Gov. Bob McDonnell this morning said he supports a measure expected to clear the Senate today that would require a woman receive an ultrasound before having an abortion.

PilotOnline.com: One-by-one, three Virginia women told lawmakers about their gut-wrenching decisions to terminate medically perilous pregnancies and urged officials not to repeal state subsidies for poor women to abort fetuses with serious birth defects.

Williamsburg Yorktown Daily: Landon Morrow told the board his club, One Desire, was singled out because it’s religious. He appeared at the meeting with a volunteer from the Alliance Defense Fund, an organization devoted to the legal defense of religious freedom.

WTOP.com: A battle over whether child-placement agencies should be allowed to discriminate against prospective parents and children based on their sexual orientation has moved to the General Assembly.

Washington Examiner: Virginia Republicans are moving swiftly to consolidate their newfound power in the General Assembly by revamping a committee that for years had been a black hole for conservative initiatives, most notably any legislation that would impose restrictions on abortion.

AP: A federal judge has refused to add Texas Gov. Rick Perry and three other candidates to Virginia’s Republican presidential primary ballot.

Virginian-Pilot: The first day of the 2012 General Assembly session dawned early today as Virginia’s leaders and lawmakers gathered to seek full stomachs and spiritual guidance at the 40th annual Commonwealth Prayer Breakfast.

American Federation for Children: Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell yesterday announced an expansive education reform agenda for the 2012 legislative session that is poised to significantly expand educational options through creation of a scholarship tax credit program for the state’s low-income families.

InsideNova: The Republican Party of Virginia recently announced that it would require a loyalty oath from Virginia voters who wish to vote in the March 6 primary.

WPCVA.com: An opinion by Virginia’s attorney general on prayer at public meetings warns governmental bodies and officers to “take heed” of recent cases decided by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. | VA AG Op. #11-105 (Dec. 9, 2011)

WSLS 10: “It was just a mistake,” Gingrich told CNN while campaigning in Iowa Wednesday night. “We hired somebody who turned in false signatures. We turned in 11,100; we needed 10,000 and 1500 of them were by one guy who frankly committed fraud.”

LifeNews.com: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has approved new regulations the state health department proposed in Virginia that pro-life advocates supported because they could close abortion clinics that don’t follow health and safety laws.

Salt Lake Tribune report.

The Smoking Gun: Police this morning arrested a 25-year-old Virginia woman for the theft last week of Baby Jesus.

Reuters: Virginia groups opposed to discriminating against would-be adoptive and foster parents based on factors including sexuality and religion said on Thursday they may sue after a state board’s decision.

WSLS 10: We have a right under federal and state law to make decisions consistent with our religious beliefs,” said Krystal Thompson, CEO of Commonwealth Catholic Charities, which placed 375 children in foster homes and handled 85 adoptions last year. “Virginians should not have to ask permission to perform faith-based acts of charity,” said Austin Nimocks, a lawyer with the national Alliance Defense Fund.

Chatham Star Tribune: News: A federal judge is expected to decide the fate of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union over public prayer at Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors meetings by the end of December.

Roanoke.com: The student who is suing to have a copy of the Ten Commandments removed from a hallway wall at Narrows High School will continue to be known only as Doe 1.

NBC29.com: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is sending a word of warning to Virginia’s governor and attorney general. The ACLU says new proposed abortion regulations on women’s health clinics could open up the commonwealth to a legal challenge.

OneNewsNow.com: A Virginia man who prosecutors say helped a woman leave the U.S. with her daughter so she wouldn’t have to turn custody of the girl over to her former lesbian partner has surrendered to face charges he aided in international parental kidnapping.

The Blog of Legal Times: Rebecca Beach Smith was named this week the new chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, becoming the first female chief judge in the district.

The Washington Post: The suit asks the Richmond Circuit Court to prevent Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who presides over the Senate, from casting the decisive 21st vote in favor of the GOP when the 40-member Senate organizes next month.

News from The Associated Press: A transgender Virginia inmate has appealed the dismissal of her lawsuit asking the state to pay for her to have a sex change operation, saying a jury should decide if hormones and other therapies she receives are adequate.

Roanoke.com: A judge declined to dismiss a lawsuit challenging a display of the Ten Commandments in a Giles County school Monday, setting the stage for a long legal battle.

Religion Clause: In Calvary Christian Center v. City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134290 (ED VA, Nov. 21, 2011), a Virginia federal district court upheld the city of Fredericksburg’s denial of a special use permit to Calvary Christian Center that wanted to lease space in its church to the operator of a private day school for disabled children.

LifeNews.com: The new regulations the state health department is planning to adopt in Virginia that pro-life advocates supported because they could close abortion clinics that don’t follow health and safety laws are headed to the governor.

Washington Post: Del. Bob Marshall filed legislation Monday that states that human life begins at fertilization, and that Virginia’s laws should grant rights, privileges and immunities to what the bill calls “unborn children.”

Washington Examiner: Virginia Senate Democrats are considering suing Senate Republicans after the GOP lawmakers claimed they have outright control of the Senate even though both parties control 20 of the 40 seats. At issue is whether Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling . . .

Liberty Counsel: Today Liberty Counsel filed its Reply Memorandum of Law in Support of its Motion to Dismiss a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Virginia against the Giles County School Board, after Narrows High School posted a display on law with eleven equal-size frames, one of which includes the Ten Commandments.

PilotOnline.com: Virginia Republicans early Wednesday claimed victory in their quest to take the state Senate – if not with an outright majority, with a 20-20 split that gives the Republican lieutenant governor, Bill Bolling, the tie-breaking vote.

SCOTUSblog: The Obama Administration has filed the last key document in the constitutional cases in the Supreme Court on the new federal health care law, urging the Justices not to grant review of Virginia’s attempt to get back into the controversy. The Court, Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., suggested in a filing Thursday, should simply hold Virginia’s petition until after it rules on other pending cases that the government wants reviewed.

CBS Washington: Richmond Tea Party spokeswoman Colleen Owens told CBS Washington that the protesters have been given special treatment and free reign of the park and have not had to comply with the strict liability and security provisions that the city required of a Tea Party Tax Day in 2009.

The Church Report: Leesburg, Va., is putting “Christmas” back in the name of its holiday parade. But not everyone is sharing in the holiday cheer.

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Cleo Elaine Powell was formally sworn in today as the first African-American woman on the 232-year-old Virginia Supreme Court.

GoDanRiver.com: Pittsylvania County has formally filed a legal request to have the prayer lawsuit against the Board of Supervisors thrown out. Bill Stanley, who is representing the board free of charge, filed the motion today (Thursday) in Danville federal court.

Christian Post: Virginia residents have just hours left to register to vote in the upcoming state election, where the Republican Party hopes to capture at least three seats to gain control of the traditionally Democratic chamber.

Roanoke.com: A student perturbed by a display of the Ten Commandments at Narrows High School should not be allowed to sue under a veil of secrecy, attorneys for the Giles County School Board say.

Religion Clause: The ACLU of Virginia announced yesterday that it had filed a federal court lawsuit against the Pittsylvania (VA) County Board of Supervisors over the opening of county board meetings with Christian prayer. (links to complaint and other docs)

The Washington Post: If he waits long enough, the reporters inevitably ask about Anwar al-Aulaqi, the radical cleric who once led the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque. They want to know about Maj. Nidal Hasan, the alleged Fort Hood shooter, and the two Sept. 11 hijackers who also once worshiped there. And they often come with a list of other terrorism suspects who have been connected in some way with the Northern Virginia mosque.

Richmond Times-Dispatch: The state Board of Health Thursday approved regulations that will effectively regulate Virginia’s 21 abortion clinics as hospital surgical centers.

OneNewsNow.com: “That case will be filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in the next few weeks,” the attorney tells OneNewsNow, “and I believe later this year, before the end of December, we’ll have a word from the high court about taking these cases. And I’m sure that the … court will schedule arguments in the early part of 2012, and by the end of June we will have a ruling on the constitutionality of ObamaCare.”

Washington Times: The Republican governor notched a a robust 61 percent job-approval rating, up from a 55 percent mark in a June Quinnipiac poll.

wdbj7.com: The Ten Commandments are still up at Narrows High School despite a lawsuit over it. According to Superintendent Terry Arbogast, it is the only Giles County school that has the Ten Commandments on display along with other documents like the Magna Carta and the Mayflower Compact.

Fredericksburg, VA Patch: The Fredericksburg City Council unanimously voted to deny a special use permit to Calvary Christian Center to operate a day school for mentally disabled children on their premises . . . We’re disappointed in the outcome of the vote,” said Eric Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian non-profit advocacy group which advocates for religious rights. ADF lawyers are representing Calvary Christian Center in both federal court and at the local level as the church tries to establish the day school. “We were hopeful that the city would agree that that was a resolution of the federal lawsuit and all the other issues, but obviously the city wants to litigate this matter and that’s what we’ll do.” [more . . .]

Houston Chronicle: A new public comment period has begun on whether Virginia should allow state-licensed groups to reject prospective adoptive and foster parents because of their sexual orientation.

The Republic: Civil-liberties groups are suing a southwest Virginia school board for posting the Ten Commandments, contending that the display violates the Constitution’s guarantee of separation of church and state. | ACLU press release and link to the complaint

WDBJ7: A member of the ACLU told News7 litigation is in the works but wouldn’t elaborate on the details of the possible suit.

WSLS 10: As we’ve reported, the ACLU sent a letter to Pittsylvania County Supervisors, saying sectarian prayers by a government body violates the first amendment.

OneNewsNow.com: A Virginia street preacher’s “noise” equals constitutionally free speech, according to a legal group.

Teresa Collett at University Faculty for Life: The Virginia Department of Health has invited public comment on proposed regulations of abortion clinics in that state. UFL member, Michael New, has posted a brief comment on the proposed clinic regulations on NRO.

Human Events: New rules regarding health care facilities will force numerous abortion clinics to shut down in Virginia.

LifeNews.com: The Virginia state health department today released a draft of new regulations for abortion centers that pro-abortion groups are aggressively opposing because it could force some abortion facilities that put women’s health at risk to close.

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Gay-rights and civil-liberties groups pushed for more comment after the board action, arguing that state law requires more time for input if the changes have “substantial impact” and at least 25 people ask the board for a chance to comment.

GoDanRiver.com (includes video): Stop sectarian prayers at public meetings. That’s what the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia has asked of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors. The American Civil Liberties Union sent the letter Tuesday to the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors asking them to stop opening meetings with Christian prayers that “explicitly refer to Jesus Christ” or instead hold nonsectarian prayers.

AP: Brette Stevenson, a parent of a Henley Middle School student, had complained that “A Study in Scarlet” is derogatory toward Mormons.

Daily Press: The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging the City Council to ax prayers before council meetings.

The Washington Post: Cleo Powell was elected by unanimous votes in the House and the Senate along with Elizabeth A. McClanahan. Both are being elevated from the Virginia Court of Appeals.

630 WMAL: The ACLU of Virginia today sent an email to local and regional jail officials reminding them that they must allow Muslim inmates to take their meals between sundown and sunrise during the holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan begins on August 1 and ends with the celebration of Eid ul-Fitr on August 30.

The Washington Post: The ACLU of Virginia has asked Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) to revise or remove two questions from his questionnaire for judicial applicants regarding mental and physical disabilities that the group says may violate the American with Disabilities Act.

Religion Clause: In Calvary Christian Center. v. City of Fredericksburg, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77489 (ED VA, July 18, 2011), a Virginia federal district court refused to grant a preliminary injunction to a church that was denied a special use permit that it sought in order to lease space in the church to a for-profit school for disabled children.

ADF attorney Erik Stanley on WAVA radio with Don Kroah to discuss the situation. | MP3 audio 13:15 mins

CBN.com (6/30): “For most of American history, there was no restriction at all on what pastors could preach from the pulpit,” said Jordan Lorence, Alliance Defense Fund attorney. Lorence said this current muzzling law goes back to the 1950s. “Lyndon Baines Johnson when he was the majority leader of the Senate basically got irritated with some pastors who were on the radio opposing his reelection as senator,” he explained. [more] . . .

The Roanoke Times: The Republican-run House of Delegates and the Democratic-controlled Senate have been unable to reach an agreement on filling the high court vacancies, or replacing judges on the Virginia Court of Appeals who may get promoted to the Supreme Court . . . Gov. Bob McDonnell isn’t holding his breath. The Republican governor said he is preparing to make the appointments himself, anticipating that the General Assembly won’t get the job done before it adjourns its redistricting session.

OneNewsNow.com: The Giles County School Board in Virginia is preparing for a long, costly court battle for approving to re-hang the Ten Commandments in district schools.

Federicksburg.com: Elementary reason puts this fear to flight. The disabled children in question are already in a school with mostly non-disabled children. “They are not explosive,” says Erik Stanley, a Kansas attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing Calvary Christian. The notion that they would be violent, he adds, “is based on unfounded prejudices and stereotyping about the disabled.” Finally, the two groups–the non-disabled pupils and the disabled students–would study on different floors of the two-story building and attend classes at different times of the school day.

SCOTUSblog: The government will appeal a federal judge’s ruling nullifying a criminal charge based on a 1907 law that bans corporations from direct contributions to federal candidates. The appeal will go to the Fourth Circuit Court.

ADF attorney Erik Stanley at The American Thinker: Zoning issues are not a concern, either. Calvary Christian Church has the approval of planning officials because it has met all zoning requirements to run such a facility. So, quite simply, no legitimate reason exists to oppose the opening of this school. There’s no reason to run up a taxpayer tab with needless litigation over a school that wants to help disabled children in need, that meets all safety and zoning requirements, and that is on firm footing under the law to do work that benefits everyone.

Fredericksburg, VA Patch: The church’s lawsuit has been taken on by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian non-profit organization which defends issues of religious liberty.
“Churches shouldn’t be singled out for discrimination, especially when attempting to expand their ministries to safely serve the needs of the community–in this case, disabled children,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “No disabled students would even be on campus at the same time as other students, and the church has the approval of planning officials because it has met all zoning requirements to run such a facility. There’s no legitimate reason for a denial, so the city’s stated reasons only serve to feed old stereotypes about the disabled.”

LifeSiteNews.com: When Ken Cuccinelli speaks publicly about his interpretation of Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, pro-family and conservative activists tend to stand up and cheer.

WSLS 10: The Giles County School Board is expected to vote on a proposal this afternoon, that would put the Ten Commandments back-up in all county schools, as part of a display on historical douments.