People's Law of Richmond

12/18/2013

We overcame the motion to dismiss - now on to full review of the School Board's rezoning plan from last June...

Judge Richard D. Taylor Jr. ruled against the School Board’s claim that none of the allegations laid out in the suit amount to “arbitrary or capricious conduct.”

12/06/2013

By: Celia Olson As a result of the CSL Civil Rights Clinic’s (“Clinic”) inquiry filed over a year ago, the North Carolina State Bar (“Bar”) recently issued a Formal Ethics Opinion significantly cur...

11/15/2013

We plead our case and now it is up to the judge. Thankfully it wasn't kicked out on procedural grounds - the judge will take a look at the merits of our petition - that is all we can ask!

A suit filed against the Richmond School Board alleging some members colluded to redraw district boundaries may be headed to trial. During a hearing today at Richmond Circuit Court, attorney Charlie Schmidt said his client, Kimberly Johnson Jones, was blindsided by the changes surrounding the board’...

11/14/2013

http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/report-va-justice-system-headed-for-crisis/article_ea886ad1-a8bb-55a7-a870-10ae29ae639a.html

Virginia’s justice system is too expensive, ineffective, unfair and headed for a crisis, according to a policy brief released Wednesday by the Justice Policy Institute.

11/13/2013

WASHINGTON -- A police officer can't pull you over and arrest you just because you gave him the finger, a federal appeals court declared Thursday. In a 14-page opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled that the "ancient gesture of insult is not the basis for a reasonable suspicion...

10/17/2013

I can't believe this, but I am actually posting an editorial opinion from the Richmond Times Dispatch - and one with which I actually agree! Having seen first-hand the impact militarization has on domestic police forces (been to a protest recently?), I applaud a main-stream media source pointing out the dangers this sort of police escalation can have on a community... Charlie Schmidt

The growing militarization of local police departments is causing increasing alarm across the country, and for good reason: Law enforcement is supposed to protect and serve, but military forces invade and conquer. Law enforcement agencies are supposed to protect the rights of the innocent first and…

09/19/2013

09/03/2013

I've previously written about the cognitive bias problem in state crime labs. This is the bias that can creep into the work of crime lab analysts when they report to, say, a state police agency, or the state attorney general.

07/23/2013

A new state law now allows tenants who’ve been locked out of their homes to file a simple form in General District Court to get back in, instead of pursuing a more complicated legal process that had been in effect.

07/16/2013

Great night at RPS School Board!

Latino students and parents blasted Richmond Public Schools for what they're calling unfair treatment.

07/16/2013

A protest in front of City Hall and a lengthy public comment session weren’t enough to cause the School Board to rethink a plan to close three schools.

06/21/2013

This is why we do what we do. Not for money. Not for prestige. It is to help people. To advocate on behalf of marginalized people. A simple "thank you" restores our drive for justice.