A Virginia statute requiring background checks for private firearms sales is facially valid but unconstitutional as applied to adults under 21 years old. The current background check system automatically rejects handgun purchases by those less than 21 years old. Overview ...

Tagged with: 24th Circuit Court Constitutional Judge F. Patrick Yeatts Virginia Circuit Courts

Difficulties in obtaining signatures because of Covid-19, including bans on large public gatherings, resulted in the court’s modifying the signature requirements for candidates running for Congress and the presidency. Background In Virginia, independent and minor party candidates seeking national office ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge John A. Gibney Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A pro se suit brought by two men who alleged they were harassed while attending a Unite the Right rally opposing the removal of a confederate general’s statute has been transferred to the Western District. A substantial number of the ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge M. Hannah Lauck U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where plaintiffs challenge an executive order requiring the use of a face mask in certain settings, injunctive relief is denied because plaintiffs are “not likely to succeed on the merits of their claim.” Background Plaintiffs are a winery and, Strother, ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Fauquier County Circuit Court Judge Jeanette A. Irby Virginia Circuit Courts

Where police used crowd control weapons and equipment to disperse demonstrators who were protesting police brutality, this did not violate plaintiffs’ rights to freedom of speech and assembly. The court declines to issue a declaratory judgment that the police unlawfully ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Beverly W. Snukals Richmond Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts

The plaintiffs’ delay in mounting a challenge to the absentee ballot process in Virginia because of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in injunctive relief being denied because of laches. Background On March 12, 2020, Gov. Ralph S. Northam declared a state ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although news organizations sought access to entire execution proceedings, the First Amendment does not support their argument that they must be allowed to witness the steps that precede an actual execution. Background The plaintiffs are news organizations that investigate and ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Robert E. Payne U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The Greater Richmond Transit Company engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination by rejecting an animal welfare watchdog’s advertisement on political grounds, while accepting other political advertisements. Background This First Amendment action arises out of the refusal of Greater Richmond Transit Company, ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge M. Hannah Lauck U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In litigation over adequate medical care to inmates at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, the claimed fees were significantly reduced because of vague billing entries, duplicative efforts, overstaffing and excessive hours. Background This action is an Eighth Amendment class ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

There was no jurisdiction over an individual’s challenge to his inclusion on the No Fly List because judicial review of such orders is vested in the Court of Appeals. Claims brought by the plaintiff’s wife and daughter were dismissed because ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Liam O'Grady U.S. District Court - Eastern District