Month: January 2014

The two men arrested and charged with assault stemming from a December 20 incident on the Downtown Mall have filed complaints against their accusers. Further clouding an already murky situation, a witness to the event has offered her account.

On January 17, nine days after they surrendered to police and were each charged with a misdemeanor, Malcolm J. Stevenson, 25, and Richard B. Spears, who turned 24 on January 18, filed complaints with a magistrate, alleging that they, too, were victims of assault that night at the hands of their alleged victims, Jeanne Doucette and Marc Adams. The two sides in the December 20 incident paint starkly different pictures of their late-night encounter.

Doucette and Adams have described a brutal attack by three men without provocation. But in interviews on the CharlottesvilleDTM.com blog and on NBC29 conducted days after their January 8 arrests, Spears and Stevenson claimed that they were victims as well, and they repeat some of those claims in their sworn statements.

“I chuckled and then she started yelling curse words at me,” wrote Spears in the January 17 complaint against Doucette. “She called me a ‘black faggot’ and came charging towards me and shoved me. In the act of self-defense, I hit her.”

In his complaint, Stevenson describes Adams as the aggressor, and says that he got involved in the altercation after attempting to separate Doucette and Spears. Adams “got into my face and yelled things such as ‘motherfucker,’ ‘bitch,’ and ‘nigger,’ as he approached,” he wrote. “I put up my hands to protect myself from his advance, he then got in my face. Once he got in my face he pushed me, at which point, I pushed him as well.”

Citing advice from their attorneys, Doucette and Adams, who both appeared in Charlottesville District Court this week to have a hearing date set, declined to comment on the charges, but in a statement issued after the men first made public statements about the incident, they denied the claims.

“We are not bigots of any kind,”  they wrote, calling the accusations “painful and frightening.”

Doucette and Adams have maintained that the assault, some of which Doucette says is captured in cellphone photos which she posted online nine days after the incident, was unprovoked and that the men hugged and high fived during the attack. Doucette filed a report with police that night, but Adams refused to give a statement or to accept medical treatment for injuries he has said include a knocked out tooth, cracked ribs and a fractured ankle. He attributed the refusal to blows he received to the head. Doucette has said Adams was knocked unconscious during the altercation, and in a January 8 press conference, Police Chief Tim Longo said two anonymous 911 callers reported an unconscious man on the Mall. Adams went to the hospital for treatment hours after the incident, and filed his own statement with police on December 21.

In the press conference, Police Chief Tim Longo also said there was no suggestion that racial or homophobic slurs had been used by either party.

With everyone involved now charged with a crime, legal experts say the challenge of sorting out what really happened may be even more difficult since defendants can “plead the Fifth” to avoid giving testimony that could be self-incriminating.

“It does make it a nightmare, a headache, when witnesses aren’t willing to testify,” said defense attorney Andrew Sneathern, a former prosecutor who has handled numerous so-called “cross complaints” but is not involved in this case.

Sneathern says that in cases where cross charges are filed, accounts from outside witnesses may offer clarity. Among the witnesses in the case is Tara Pretty, who was out with Spears, Stevenson, and her brother on the Mall at the time of the attack.

Pretty, who lives in New Jersey and was in Charlottesville visiting her brother the week before Christmas, said she was standing some distance away from Spears and Stevenson when the altercation broke out. She didn’t hear the verbal altercation that allegedly sparked the assaults and called the physical portion of the incident “ugly.”

Doucette has described a woman who was at the scene of the incident and who is depicted in several grainy cell phone photos trying to intervene. Pretty said that woman is her.

“I just wanted it to stop,” Pretty said, adding that her brother was not physically involved and that she didn’t see other witnesses or participants at the scene.  “We left as soon as we could,” she said. Pretty’s brother, who is also listed as a witness in court files, did not return C-VILLE’s call.

When Doucette and Adams went public with their version of events in the press, Pretty said she was upset to see any mention of the knockout game, something that landed the initial news account on the Drudge Report and other far right wing websites  and prompted a slew of racist comments on C-VILLE’s website. She said from what she saw, there was no truth to any claim that the incident was the knockout game.

While Doucette declined comment on the charges against her, she stressed that neither she nor Adams ever claimed the attack was the knockout game. She said they wondered about the motivation since Doucette recalled the men hugging and high-fiving during the incident, something she said made it seem to her like a game.

Neither Stevenson nor his court appointed attorney Bonnie Lepold returned C-VILLE’s calls requesting comment. Reached twice by phone, Spears, who does not yet have an attorney, has declined to speak with C-VILLE. He is scheduled to appear in Charlottesville District Court on February 5.

Adams’ attorney David Heilberg declined to comment on the incident, and Doucette’s attorney, Bruce Williamson, did not immediately return C-VILLE’s call.

Sneathern said in a case of he-said, he-said, he-said, she-said, determining the truth will likely be challenging, but noted that all participants are bound by the law when giving testimony or filing an official complaint.

“You are swearing under oath that what you are saying is factual,” said Sneathern. “There may be consequences if you are not telling the truth.”

Doucette, Adams and Stevenson are scheduled for trial in Charlottesville District Court on March 21, and according to Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Nina-Alice Antony, Spears’ trial will likely be scheduled for the same day.

The Charlottesville Circuit Court stays busy: The city’s police department reported a total of 381 crimes committed in 2012. The Circuit Court opened 399 criminal files and 406 civil files that same year. For a population of roughly 44,000, that’s no small potatoes. It seems one of the many legacies left by the city’s patriarch and most famous resident, Thomas Jefferson—himself a lawyer—was a litigious disposition.

All this courtroom activity wouldn’t really raise any eyebrows except that it’s plagued by case backlog. The backlog has a lot of causes, limited budgets being just one of them, and it has a lot of consequences: It’s bad for legal parties, the public, and the legal justice system.

Case backlog or docket jam is not uncommon. Courts all over the country experience some form of backlog for one reason or another. Getting most criminal and civil cases through our legal system is a complex, time-consuming process that really can’t and shouldn’t be rushed.

Even if judges wanted to speed up the trial process, they often don’t have the power to do so. Trials are usually delayed because of a number of things allowed during the pretrial phase such as hearings, continuances, motions, and discovery. Lawyers and the parties to the trial are the cause for these delays. Another factor that has to be taken into account when talking about undue trial delay, especially in Virginia, is lack of judges.

“The biggest problem with the courts is there’s not enough judges, which has a lot to do with things getting jammed up,” said local defense attorney Dean Lhospital.

In the Clerk’s Office for the City of Charlottesville Circuit Court, case backlog is just a part of the job.

“We only have one sitting judge [for the City Circuit Court] and one courtroom,” said Llezelle Dugger, the clerk of the city court. “The judge’s docket is 85 percent criminal cases, which fills up his docket and ties up the courtroom for days and even weeks sometimes.”

That judge, Edward L. Hogshire, who just recently announced his upcoming retirement from the bench, is one of the five district judges who form the 16th Judicial Circuit in the Commonwealth. He, along with Judge Cheryl V. Higgins of the County Circuit Court, are the only two sitting judges for the Circuit, an area that comprises the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle, Culpeper, Fluvanna, Goochland, Greene, Louisa, Madison, and Orange counties. The other three judges travel the Circuit from court to court to help out where needed.

That’s a lot of geography and population to cover for five judges. With so few, it’s not surprising that docket backlog is an issue. In fact, a recent report written by the National Center for Safe Courts found that the entire Commonwealth was suffering from a shortage of judges. The main culprit is a lack of resources and funding that could be allocated to the state’s budget to pay for new judgeships.

But, as Dugger explained, even if the Circuit Court were to get another judge, there would be no place for that judge to set up shop. With a lack of funds for judgeships, you can bet there’s a lack of funds to construct new courthouses or additional courtrooms throughout the Commonwealth.

“We sometimes have to use the court’s conference room for hearings out of necessity when cases are piling up and the courtroom is occupied with an ongoing trial,” said Dugger. “We’re not going to get another full courtroom because that would cost millions of dollars.”

The Justice Policy Institute, a liberal think tank based in Washington, D.C., issued a report in November of last year blasting Virginia’s justice system as expensive, ineffective, and unfair. While the report’s discussion of “misguided policies and practices” featured the usual suspects—too many drug arrests, too few educational opportunities for low-income communities of color—it did recommend reforming Virginia’s judicial selection away from a purely legislative appointment process to a more performance-based model. The latter process would allow more input from local bar associations, legal groups, and the general public, likely avoiding the judicial vacancy and caseload management issues caused by political gridlock over judicial selection, says the report.

Lhospital believes another one of the report’s recommendations of raising the threshold amount of what distinguishes grand larceny from petty larceny to $600 would not only save a lot of money but also improve the backlog issue.

“The threshold for grand larceny has been $200 for over 30 years,” said Lhospital. “Raising that amount to reflect modern-day times would save lots of money Virginia spends on corrections.”

A 2008 Virginia Department of Corrections study estimated that raising the amount to $600 would save $1.8 million in the first year alone—more money the Commonwealth could allocate to things like paying for more judges, said Lhospital.

The consequences of case back-up, like the causes, are numerous and generally negative for all parties involved. When the caseload piles up, some cases may not get a court date until the next calendar year. Civil litigants, in particular, get dealt a blow because criminal cases take precedence due to constitutional laws dictating time periods that criminal cases must be called to trial.

In the Circuit Court, Dugger said that many civil cases currently being filed will receive a court date in 2015 because the large majority of cases are criminal and they essentially book the one courtroom for back-to-back weeks on end.

The longer the time between a crime and the trial date also affects things like witness memory, which in turn, adversely affect evidence and trial testimony. If you happen to be a criminal defendant who’s detained pretrial, waiting in a jail cell for your day in court to come while still being technically innocent must be particularly frustrating, especially knowing a backlog of cases is the cause. And case backlog almost certainly dissuades some members of the public from filing a grievance or bringing a complaint when they realize how long the process will take.

Then there are the victims of crimes and their friends and families, who also suffer while they wait for justice.

Locally, the problem seems to be best addressed by hiring another judge. But then there’s that pesky budget.

“In a perfect world, case backlog wouldn’t be a problem because everyone would get to court based on a timeline but we don’t live in a perfect world,” said Dugger. “I just wish it wasn’t because we have only one judge.”

Martha Jefferson Starr Hill Center Kicks off Baby Basics Moms Club

On Tuesday evening, Martha Jefferson’s Starr Hill Center filled with the spicy scent of kabobs from Vinegar Hill Cafe and the sounds of chatter and laughter as moms-to-be and other community members attended the center’s kickoff for Baby Basics Moms’ Club. Martha Jefferson’s Starr Hill Center is part of the Jefferson School City Center.

“This program targets women who wouldn’t traditionally go to a childbirth education class. It’s a very informal drop-in club that gives them all of the information they need to know,” explained Jackie Martin, Director of Community Benefit for Martha Jefferson. “It’s not meant to replace prenatal care or childbirth classes, but we do talk about things like nutrition and preterm labor and we partner that with really fun topics, like packing for the hospital.”

Tuesday’s kickoff served as an informative session, with childbirth educators and staff on hand to answer questions and talk about the curriculum of the club. Club meetings will be held on first and third Tuesdays, starting in February, from 6:00-7:30pm and on the second and fourth Wednesdays, from 9:30-11:00am. The meetings are free and will be held at the Starr Hill Center. Free cab rides and limited babysitting services are also available for moms-to-be, if needed.

Martin stresses the importance of the club for new mothers who may not typically seek out prenatal or childbirth classes. “What we have found in our community is that many women are not accessing prenatal care and there is a huge disparity in infant mortality rates in African American women,” said Martin, adding that she hopes women use the club as supplemental to such care. The club meetings will begin with some informal conversation, followed by a presentation on a specific topic and a chance for women to talk to each other and ask questions of the childbirth educator facilitating the session. There will be snacks and free giveaways, such as diapers, at each session as well.

The Baby Basics Club is being launched in partnership with UVa Children’s Hospital Women’s Health Services. For more information call Martha Jefferson Health Connection at 434-654-7009 or visit marthajefferson.org.

Common Ground Offers Mid-Winter Yoga Immersion Series

Starting Friday, February 7, Common Ground Healing Arts will offer a four-week yoga series, with each week focusing on a different aspect of yoga. Beate Rose, M. Ed., an instructor trained in Vini-Yoga and Mindfulness Yoga, will lead the course. She also specializes in yoga for mood regulation and yoga for stress management.

The class meets every Friday through March 7, 2014 from noon to 1:00pm at Common Ground. The cost is $45.00 for the entire series or $13.00 to drop in to an individual session. Week one will focus on breath awareness; week two on  soothing visualizations; week three on pranayama techniques; and week four on energizing through sound and mudras.

Heritage of America Band Performs at Carver Rec February 11

Carver Recreation Center will be hosting the United states Air Force (USAF) Heritage of America Band for a free concert on February 11 from 7:00-8:30pm. The band was one of the original Army Air Corps bands, created during World War II. Based out of  Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA, it performs live concerts throughout the mid-Atlantic and on television.  The USAF Heritage of America Band has earned a variety of honors including eight Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards, five Air Force Organizational Excellence Awards, and many other state and municipal proclamations. The concert is free and open to the public.

Jefferson School City Center is a voice of the nine nonprofits located at Charlottesville’s intergenerational community center, the restored Jefferson School. We are a legacy preserved . . . a soul reborn . . . in the heart of Cville!