Shannon strikes back

Steve Shannon this week accused Ken Cucinelli of failing to support past legislation he carried that dealt with evidence admissibility in drunk driving trials.

It's the latest swipe in an increasingly feisty back-and-forth between the attorney general candidates who both represent Fairfax County in the legislature.

"When I introduced the bill with one Republican and one Democratic member of our Fairfax County delegation, it would have been helpful for a Republican Senator on the Courts of Justice of [sic] Committee like  you, to stand up and help us secure passage," Shannon, a Democratic state Delegate, wrote to Cuccinelli, a GOP state Senator.

It's not clear if Shannon's 2007 legislation -- it didn't make it out of committee that year -- would have solved the issue that developed out of a recent United State Supreme Court ruling about the use of forensic evidence in criminal trials, though Shannon insists it would have.

This tiff began last week when Cuccinelli issued a statement calling on Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to convene a special session of the General Assembly to modify Virginia's law in light of the court decision.

In that opinion, the high court ruled that forensic technicians can be called as witnesses in trials involving evidence they process. The decision is based on an appeal of a criminal conviction stemming from a 2001 drug arrest in Boston, Mass. Following the ruling, some legal scholars speculated that the precedent established could inhibit criminal prosecutions.

A Virginia case with similar circumstances (it is related to arrests made in Chesapeake) is expectd to be argued before the Supreme Court in the coming months.

Cuccinelli has suggested that drunk drivers and drug dealers could escape punishment unless a legislative remedy is crafted. In a subsequent statement, Cuccinelli said Shannon missed the significance of the court decision.

"As a former criminal prosecutor, I have seen first hand the damage drunk drivers can inflict on innocent people and their families," Shannon wrote. "I can only think that if you'd had that experience, you might not have taken the positions you did on this issue over the span of five years."

(The subtext of this statement: it's a subtle reminder by Shannon of his prosecutorial experience, which Cuccinelli lacks.)

Not to be outdone, Cuccinelli in a letter to Shannon noted "I have been surprised, however, at your lack of understanding regarding criminal law since you are determined to make your two years as an entry level prosecutor right out of law school the centerpiece of your campaign."

A spokesman for Kaine has said that a special session is not out of the question, but officials are first trying to devise an administrative solution.

-- Julian Walker

Click here to read a letter from Virginia prosecutors asking Del. Steve Shannon to call for a special session to address the Supreme Court ruling.

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