Va. Beach's sheriff, chief magistrate part ways

VIRGINIA BEACH

The sheriff and the chief magistrate are putting some distance - both physical and procedural - between their offices to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.

Chief Magistrate Thomas Cahill, who runs the office responsible for screening criminal accusations for arrest warrants and summonses, has recused his magistrates from cases involving inmate complaints against law enforcement. And Sheriff Ken Stolle has asked Cahill to move his office from the secured sector of the Correctional Center.

Tensions rose in February, when a magistrate issued a summons against a deputy based on an inmate's allegation that he'd assaulted him. Stolle said security footage and testimony from another deputy refuted the inmate's story, and he asked Cahill to review it.

"I thought there was a terrible breach of probable cause," Stolle said. "The magistrate basically took the inmate's word over the two deputies' and issued a warrant, which I thought was uncalled-for."

Cahill looked into it and determined that the magistrate had not acted inappropriately.

"Each magistrate is an independent judicial officer, and I have no authority to override their independent decision," he said.

The magistrate is often described within the law as "serving as a buffer between law enforcement and society," according to the city's website.

But the situation may have caused tension.

"He didn't respond to that request very well," Stolle said, referring to Cahill. "He was very defensive. "

But Cahill said he wouldn't characterize the situation as adversarial.

"I've been very impressed with the professionalism and courtesy of his staff at all times, and I've always hoped that I've reciprocated that," he said, referring to Stolle.

Prosecutors planned to ask for the charge to be dismissed anyway, said Macie Pridgen, a spokeswoman for the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. They'd assessed the case and found a conviction unlikely, she said.

The man who filed the charge, who had since been released from jail, didn't show, Stolle said.

He declined to name the deputy involved but said an internal investigation cleared him of any wrongdoing.

After speaking with Stolle about the summons, Cahill sought an opinion from the state's supervisor of magistrates on how to handle such cases going forward. The supervisor recommended that, to avoid potential conflicts of interest, the individual magistrates recuse themselves from cases involving inmate complaints against law enforcement in Virginia Beach. Such cases are rare, Cahill said.

The Norfolk magistrate's office has since begun handling those complaints, although they can also be screened by officials in Portsmouth and on the Eastern Shore. A video teleconferencing system gives inmates access to magistrates in Norfolk, Stolle said.

One inmate case has come up since the switch, Cahill said. It was referred to Norfolk.

Kristi Wright, a staff attorney for the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Virginia Supreme Court, said there have been other instances in Virginia when entire magistrates' offices have recused themselves from cases involving deputies and police officers in their localities.

And then late last month, citing space constraints and security issues, Stolle canceled Cahill's access to the secured portion of the Correctional Center and told him he'd have to reach his office through the main entrance, which screens deputies and visitors prior to entering the building.

He then asked him to move his office. It currently sits in the sheriff's professional standards office, which conducts internal investigations like complaints against deputies.

"I told him that his office located within our secured facility and within professional standards is not acceptable," Stolle said. "It is hard to maintain the appearance of an independent magistrate's office when his office is in my professional standards."

He said Cahill initially raised the autonomy issue.

"At first I thought it was ridiculous, but now I agree with him," Stolle said.

The city is in the process of moving Cahill into an office on the first floor of the courthouse, said facilities manager Barry Shockley. The move will probably take place in the next few weeks. Stolle also offered him space in the unsecured portion of the Correctional Center.

The move won't affect the other magistrates, who are located in the Correctional Center on the opposite side from the jail. Cahill said the move to the courthouse will put him closer to his staff.

Stolle said there's no connection between the inmate case and the move.

"If I was going to kick him out of the building for a disagreement that we had back in February, I would've done it back in February," he said. "The two situations are unrelated."

Cahill said he's unsure. "I honestly couldn't say if the two issues are related at all."

Former Sheriff Paul Lanteigne, who retired at the end of December, said he never had a conflict with the magistrate's office. But he still thinks the moves to distance the two departments are a good idea.

"There should be a separation," he said.

When he was sheriff, from 2000 to 2009, the magistrates typically allowed the sheriff's office to investigate a complaint before deciding whether to issue a warrant, he said. Lanteigne said he couldn't recall any cases in which an inmate's allegation resulted in a conviction against a deputy.

"It was just a common-sense approach to not clogging up the judicial system with potentially frivolous charges," he said.

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com

Jen McCaffery, (757) 222-5119,jen.mccaffery@pilotonline.com