The Virginia Supreme Court has issued new opinions for September, but none are cases involving local governments, at least not on appeal.  Here is the link to the opinions of the Virginia Supreme Court:  http://www.courts.state.va.us/scndex.htm. There is one opinion, however, that will be of interest to local government attorneys — Doud v. Commonwealth, Record No. 100285, opinion by Senior Justice [...]

The Virginia General Assembly adjourned on Sunday, and during its 2011 session, considered, amended, killed and/or adopted thousands of pieces of legislation, plus the Virginia budget.  During the session, the state legislature adopted some important changes in the law affecting local governments.  Over the coming weeks, I will be touching on some of the most significant bills.  [...]

As discussed in the last post, many localities are struggling after the Virginia Supreme Court’s opinion in Tanner v. City of Virginia Beach to adopt ordinances to comply with that decision.  No longer can localities use a “reasonable person” standard in a criminal noise ordinance without risking a run-in with Tanner. What can replace that [...]

This blog predicted that the decision by the Virginia Supreme Court in Tanner v. City of Virginia Beach would likely have significant impacts on local governments and their citizens. Forecast has become fact, as ordinances across the state have been struck down or charges dismissed. In the City of Richmond, a noise ordinance adopted after the Tanner decision was [...]

What is the proper balance between free speech, with its encouragement of open dialog and debate, and the need for order and civility to accomplish the goals of a public meeting?  What are the rights of the public attending a meeting to speak to the public body? Do the members of the public body have a right [...]

For years, Virginia local government attorneys believed that an absolute legislative privilege attached to reports and statements by staff and others to the elected officials at a meeting of a local governing body.  Legislative bodies like our local elected boards and councils should have an absolute privilege for good reason. Frank advice and reports from staff, [...]

This opinion affecting local government law was handed down by the Virginia Supreme Court on January 13, 2010.   Analysis will be forthcoming on this blog.   The following is the summary from the Virginia Supreme Court website: 091693 Isle of Wight County v. Nogiec 01/13/2011 In a lawsuit charging a county with breach of an employment severance [...]

By Karen Elliott, Esquire On Monday evening, Phil Baxa, my good friend and colleague, stood in my office, chatting about “work stuff,”

The Local Government Attorneys of Virginia (LGA) held its Fall 2010 conference in Roanoke late last week. And we were active.

Following up the recent posts on this blog regarding sanctions, The Locality Strikes Back: Sanctions (Part 1) and The Locality Strikes Back: Sanctions (Part 2), it is still tough to get a court to order sanctions for many reasons.