1:00PM
Norfolk Waterside Marriott Hotel
Council Members Present
Officers:
Raymond F. Morrogh (Fairfax County), Chairman
Nancy G. Parr (Chesapeake), First Vice Chairman
LaBravia J. Jenkins (Fredericksburg), Second Vice Chairman
Eric Olsen (Stafford County), Secretary
Michael R. Doucette (Lynchburg), Past Chairman
Council District Representatives:
- LaBravia J. Jenkins (Fredericksburg)
2. Colin D. Stolle (Virginia Beach)
3. Cassandra S. Conover (Petersburg)
5. Denise Lunsford (Albemarle County)
6. Donald S. Caldwell (Roanoke City)
7. William W. Davenport (Chesterfield County)
9. Christian E. Rehak (Radford)
10. Alexander R. Iden (Winchester)
11. Raymond F. Morrogh (Fairfax County)
Other Commonwealth’s Attorneys Present
Joel R. Branscom (Botetourt County)
Paul B. Ebert (Prince William County)
Gregory D. Underwood (Norfolk)
C. Phillips Ferguson (Suffolk)
Patricia T. Watson (Greensville/Emporia)
Jeffrey W. Haislip (Fluvanna County)
James R. Ennis (Prince Edward County)
John C. Singleton (Bath County)
Theo K. Stamos (Arlington/Falls Church)
Ross P. Spicer (Frederick County)
Matthew R. Kite (King William County)
Eric Mobley (Portsmouth)
Shannon Taylor (Henrico County)
Julia H. Sichol (Westmoreland County)
Tracy Q. Martin (Halifax County)
Bucky Joyce (Rockbridge/Lexington)
Jay “C” Paul (Prince George County)
Michael Newman (Danville)
William B. Bray (Colonial Heights)
Trip Chalkley (Hanover County)
Holly Smith (Gloucester County)
Richard Newman (Hopewell)
M. Andrew Nester (Henry County)
Nicole M. Price (Washington County)
Patricia D. Scales (Cumberland County)
Mary Pettitt (Montgomery County)
Eric A. Cooke (Southampton County/Franklin)
Keri Gusmann (King George County)
Edward K. Stein (Alleghany County)
Nora Miller (Mecklenburg County)
Assistant and Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorneys Present
Tom Shaia (Spotsylvania County)
Cheryl Wilson (Petersburg)
Susan Hooks (Virginia Beach)
John Murphy (Fairfax County)
Todd M. Shockley (Halifax County)
Guests
Harvey L. Bryant
CASC Staff Present
Jane Sherman Chambers
Shannon M. Weist
Tracey DeBord
Call to Order
Mr. Morrogh called the meeting to order at 1:15 p.m.
Minutes
The draft minutes from the February 20, 2014, meeting were previously posted and circulated to Council. The minutes were approved as submitted.
Chairman’s Report
None.
Administrator’s Report
Ms. Chambers reviewed the agenda items:
Old Business
Introduction – New staff attorney, Shannon Weist
Ms. Chambers introduced CASC’s new staff attorney, Shannon M. Weist. Ms. Weist is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the Wake Forest University School of Law. She will serve as the staff attorney responsible for Spring Institute, the Annual Summer Conference, the Executive Program and Trauma to Trial. She also will serve as Virginia’s Violence Against Women Resource Prosecutor. Ms. Chambers commended Ms. Weist for all her efforts in preparing for Spring Institute.
Spring Institute Update
Ms. Chambers reported that over 700 people have registered to attend Spring Institute. Those numbers include Commonwealth’s Attorneys, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys, Assistant Attorneys General and attorneys for the Virginia State Police and Parole Board. The $50/person registration fee will be applied to staff expenses, speaker expenses, AV expenses, binders, CD’s and food & beverage. Five vendors have signed up to participate in Spring Institute at $1000/booth. Four are case management vendors (Prosecutor by Karpel, Spartan Technology, Software Unlimited and Sungard) and one is an alcohol monitoring program (Alcohol Monitoring Systems.) Spring Institute highlights include the Von Schuch & Duvall Awards presentations on Monday morning, a special table all day Monday manned by DFS staff to talk about uncertainty of measurements, and Monday evening vendor presentations from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Abbott Lab Settlement Update
Mr. Caldwell reported that the fight continues to keep CASC’s portion of the Abbott Lab settlement that was awarded by the U.S. Treasury to create a dedicated funding stream for training Virginia’s prosecutors. Mr. Caldwell recounted that in January the House Appropriations Committee of the General Assembly requested that the Virginia Office of the Attorney General give them a report on the distribution of the $115 million Virginia portion of the $1.5 billion Abbott Lab settlement. During the course of that hearing, House Appropriations committee members expressed extreme displeasure at the OAG’s handling of the Abbott Lab monies, stating that only the General Assembly has the authority to appropriate funds. As a result, House Appropriations submitted a budget amendment to transfer the funds in CASC’s Abbott Lab treasury account to law enforcement retirement programs. Mr. Caldwell described the efforts that have been made to explain to the General Assembly the restrictions on asset forfeiture funds. Recently letters have been sent to the U.S. Treasury and to the General Assembly money committees in an effort to preserve funding for prosecutor training. Mr. Caldwell reassured members that the $2 million that was initially distributed pro rata to Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ offices is not at issue.
Review of upcoming CASC programs
Ms. Chambers briefly reviewed the upcoming CASC training programs. The list was attached to the agenda and can be found on the CASC website.
New Business
Homicide Program
Ms. Chambers announced that CASC has funding to resurrect the Homicide Program aka Murder One. The anticipated cost will be $35,000 and will cover lodging, materials and meals for attendees. The goal is to hold the program over the course of 4 days in early November, possibly in the Richmond area. Ms. Chambers requested 1 or 2 volunteers to take the lead on developing a faculty and curriculum.
Adjournment
There being no further business before Council, the meeting adjourned at 1:35 p.m. The next regularly scheduled meeting is May 7, 11:30 a.m., at the Henrico County Sheriff’s Office Conference Room.