Virginia Senate Committee Kills Cyberflashing Bill
The committee’s only two female members voted in support of the effort, which would compare the unsolicited sexual images to a kind of digital indecent exposure.
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Virginia
Hiccups as Virginia Lawmakers Adapt to Legislating by Zoom
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic is again upending the daily routines of the tradition-bound Virginia General Assembly. The
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Car Crash
A wrongful death case arising from a fatal car accident in the U.K., caused by a woman who was working for the U.S. government, will proceed in Virginia, a federal judge in the state ruled. The woman, Anne Sacoolas, fled the U.K. after the accident and claimed diplomatic immunity.
Read moreSocial Media
A woman sufficiently argued that Frederick County Public Schools’ social media accounts were public forums and school system leadership “engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination” by blocking her and deleting her comments criticizing the system’s Covid-19 protocols and face mask policy, a federal court in Virginia ruled, declining to dismiss some of her claims against the school board.
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Virginia’s Legislative Session Spotlights Shifting Political Power
Now in their second full session with complete legislative control, Virginia Democrats continue to roll back old GOP efforts and make new laws with the state’s increasingly diverse citizenry in mind.
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Fourth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Filed by Driver Arrested for Not Giving ID
A Virginia sheriff’s deputy unconstitutionally arrested a Black motorist for refusing to give his name after pulling over to check on engine problems, a trio of Fourth Circuit judges ruled Thursday.
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Virginia Judge Allows Elite School to Drop Standardized Admissions Tests
A Virginia judge has denied a preliminary injunction sought by parents of middle school students who sued the Fairfax County School Board over a plan to jettison standardized testing as part of the admissions process for one of the nation’s top high schools.
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Virginia Senator Sues Chamber Over Censure Tied to Capitol Riot
A Virginia senator who was censured with bipartisan support last week for speaking at former President Donald Trump’s Save America rally just before the deadly Capitol riot has filed a federal lawsuit against the legislative body.
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Heard Turns to Virginia Anti-SLAPP Law to Beat Depp Defamation Case
A Virginia judge is weighing whether actress Amber Heard can rely on a law aimed at deterring speech-chilling litigation to fend off defamation claims brought by her ex-husband, Johnny Depp.
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Virginia Senate Censures Member Who Spoke at Rally Before Capitol Riot
Virginia’s Senate voted across party lines to censure one of its members who spoke at former President Donald Trump’s Save America rally just before the insurrectionist attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Read moreCyberstalking Sentence
A Virginia man was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for sending harassing and threatening messages to the Republican mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in an effort to force the cancellation of a Donald Trump rally last summer.
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Bomb Threat Forces Evacuation of Virginia High Court
Authorities sent a text message Friday afternoon stating the Virginia Supreme Court is being evacuated due to a bomb threat, three days before a gun-rights rally draws thousands to the state capital.
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Annual Gun Rally Heats Up Tensions in Virginia Capital
Days after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to stop the confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s win, gun-rights groups are heading to Virginia’s capital for an annual rally that shares faces and themes with the Washington mob.
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Virginia Parents Ask Judge to Keep Standardized Testing in Place
Attorneys for students hoping to attend the country’s most prestigious public science and technology high school argued Monday that a Virginia school board unfairly eliminated the standardized admissions tests that would have made their acceptance a sure thing.
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Virginia Officials Hear Debate Over Stricter Labor Rules
A battle between labor and industry groups played out before a Virginia regulatory board on Tuesday morning as the state’s emergency, coronavirus-driven workplace regulations near their expiration.
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Judge Advances Some of Amber Heard’s Defamation Fight Against Johnny Depp
A Virginia judge on Monday pared actress Amber Heard’s $100 million defamation case against her ex-husband Johnny Depp — though some of the defamation claims themselves stand, at least for now.
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Following Lawsuit, Virginia Legislative Session Will Offer Public Space
Only hours before a sitting Virginia state senator died of Covid-19, another state senator called the opening of a public space at the state’s upcoming legislative session, otherwise closed because of the ongoing pandemic, a “huge victory.”
Read moreWhite’s Ferry
White’s Ferry, which has shuttled passengers and goods between Maryland and Virginia for more than 200 years, announced its closure Monday, citing a trial court ruling last month that found it had trespassed on property owned by Rockland Farm, LLC, after the termination of a license agreement. Rockland Farm said there was no final court order that would prevent the ferry from operating, and the decision to cease operations was “solely made by White’s Ferry.”
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Virginia’s Covid Rental Relief Program Reflects State’s Changing Politics
While Virginia isn’t the only state facing an eviction crisis under the weight of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it has a history of being less tenant friendly with few protections for those who fail to make rent.
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Heard Must Hand Over Arrest Record in Depp Defamation Case
Two years to the day after Amber Heard published an editorial describing the backlash she faced as a domestic abuse survivor, a Virginia judge ordered the actress to produce her arrest record as part of discovery in a defamation case brought by her ex-husband Johnny Depp.
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