The Virginian-Pilot
©
RICHMOND
The General Assembly passed legislation Tuesday that would protect people who sign a petition trying to remove someone from public office.
Del. Harvey Morgan, R-Gloucester, said he introduced HB2465 in response to a judge’s order charging $80,000 in legal fees against 40 people in Gloucester County for a failed petition effort to recall four members of the Board of Supervisors.
“This has had a real chilling effect on other petition drives,” Morgan said.
The judge, Westbrook Parker, has not signed his order requesting the Gloucester petitioners to pay up, Morgan said.
His bill also changes the law to say that judges shall not dismiss a petition seeking removal of an official solely because of an immaterial error in the paperwork.
The Senate passed an identical bill Tuesday, so the legislation now awaits the governor’s signature, Morgan said.
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Let's have a fair shake...
And stand for the Constitution; which clearly outlines such freedoms in Amendment 1.
May I suggest everybody gets a copy and really starts reading it...it's only about 10 pages or so in a full sized book format...not 1700 pages of pork - it's pretty clearly written!
Poster Leonard submits: "We are already struggeling to get a fair-shake and with rulings like this is is all but impossible!!!"
The Article reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,; [or of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievance.]"
Brackets added to highlight the respective argument...so how is a minor courts judge so empowered to attempt enacting such measure contrary to the standing law of the land?
Forfeited Honorable title
Judge Parker forfeited the title of honorable when he punished citizens of Gloucester for exercising their constitutional rights. It looks like he and the attorney for the 4 Board of Supervisors Tony Anthony formulated this scheme even before the case was heard in the courtroom.
Judg Parkers re-evaluation comes up next year in 2010. The members of the Courts and Justice sub-committees of the General Assembly should weigh his bizarre and illegal action and possibly find his is not fit to be a sitting judge in the Commonwealth of Virginia. We citizens expect much more from judges and they have to earn the right to be called "Honorable".
Finally some sanity!
This issue is ripe for review by the people and their representatives. How a respected person like the Honorable Judge Parker every came up with a ruling like this is totally out in left-field. I have watched the good work of this honorable man for years and find it of great concern to say the least! I pray that the Honorable Judge does not sign this order, and in fact retracts it as a mental error and contrary to the standing of our representative form of government. To let such a ruling stand does a great diservice to our Republic, where we hold great value in the small powers the people have to rein-in their representatives when appropreate. We are already struggeling to get a fair-shake and with rulings like this is is all but impossible!!! This issue highlight why we need to look at reforming the law of the Commonwealth as it applies to recall of elected representatives. Presently the process is impossible to comply with and is a sham!
Roger A. Leonard, MPA
Suffolk, Virginia