12:00PM
Zoom Meeting - State of Emergency
Council Members Present
Officers:
Jeffrey W. Haislip (Fluvanna County), Chairman
Colin D. Stolle (Virginia Beach), First Vice Chairman
Nathan R. Green (James City County/Williamsburg), Second Vice Chairman
Shannon L. Taylor (Henrico County), Secretary
Roy F. Evans (Smyth County), Past Chairman
Council District Representatives:
3. Georgette C. Phillips (Isle of Wight)
5. Megan L. Clark (Prince Edward County)
6. David L. Ledbetter (Waynesboro)
9. Charles H. Slemp, III (Wise County)
Other Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Present
E. M. Wright (Buckingham County)
Eric L. Olsen (Stafford County)
Beverly P. Leatherbury (Northampton County)
Anton A. Bell (Hampton)
Gregory D. Underwood (Norfolk)
C. Phillips Ferguson (Suffolk)
Susan O. Fierro (Prince George County)
Tracy Q. Martin (Halifax County)
R. Bryan Haskins (Pittsylvania County)
Marsha L. Garst (Rockingham County/Harrisonburg)
Paul R. Walther (Culpeper County)
Parisa Dehghani-Tafti (Arlington/Falls Church)
Christian E. Rehak (Radford)
Anne M. Williams (Clarke County)
Marc H. Abrams (Winchester)
Joe Platania (Charlottesville)
Andrew Nester (Henry County)
Rick Newman (Hopewell)
Matthew Dunne (Craig County)
Clarissa Berry (Madison County)
Josh Elrod (Buena Vista)
Tom Bowers (Salem)
Meredith Adkins (King and Queen County)
Allen Nash (Mecklenburg County)
Jim Hingeley (Albemarle County)
Stacey Davenport (Chesterfield County)
Les Fleet (Appomattox County)
Bethany Harrison (Lynchburg)
Buta Biberaj (Loudoun County)
Julia Sichol (Westmoreland County)
Stephanie Vipperman (Patrick County)
Matt Kite (King William County)
Mike Hurd (Middlesex County)
Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorneys Present
Marie Walls (Suffolk)
David Chappell (Brunswick County)
CASC Staff Present
Jane Sherman Chambers
Elliott Casey
VACA Staff Present
N/A
Call to Order
Mr. Haislip called the meeting to order at 12:02 p.m.
Minutes
The draft minutes from the August 12, 2020, 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
CATF Update
Ms. Chambers reviewed the CATF balance sheet reflecting account activity through August 31, 2020.
2020 Curriculum Retreat Update
Ms. Chambers reported that the Curriculum Committee met earlier in September at the new CASC meeting space in Richmond. Agendas were developed for the 2020 Executive Program, the 2021 Spring Institute and the 2021 Annual Summer Conference. Copies of the Executive Program and Spring Institute agendas were circulated for review. Ms. Chambers also reported that the issue of diversity and implicit bias training was discussed at length and videos of prospective speakers were reviewed. Nancy Oglesby and Colette McEachin are working with the VACA Justice & Professionalism Committee to develop a 2-hour plenary session at Spring Institute. Mr. Underwood inquired about a specific speaker whom he had recommended. Ms. Harrison responded that she has reached out to her but has not gotten any response.
CASC Webinar on Implicit Bias Update
Ms. Chambers reported that CASC will offer an implicit bias training via webinar on October 22, 2020. The speaker will be District Attorney Jarvis Parsons from Brazos County, Texas, who came highly recommended by the Texas District & County Attorneys Association.
2020 Executive Program Attendees
Ms. Chambers reported that traditionally the Executive Program attendance has been limited to the elected CA and the chief deputy. Now that the program will be offered online, she inquired if members wanted to expand those parameters. After some discussion, a motion was made, seconded and unanimously passed to extend registration to all management-level attorneys.
State Budget Cuts Update
Ms. Chambers reported that she still has not received any information about state budget cuts related to COVID-19. There is, however, a hiring freeze for state employees. Federally funded positions are exempt.
New Business
VCSC Request for Volunteers
Mr. Casey reported that he has received a request from VCSC to identify 2 to 3 assistant commonwealth’s attorneys to serve on a proposed probation violations guidelines focus group. Ms. Chambers suggested Mr. Blaine from Brunswick who is the state expert on probation violations. Mr. Hingeley, Ms. Dehghani-Tafti and others stated that they may recommend people from their office. Anyone interested in volunteering should email Elliott Casey.
2021 CASC & VACA Event & Meeting Calendar
Ms. Chambers circulated a draft of the events calendar for 2021. She asked members to let her know if they saw any errors or problems.
Reminder to Phone Attendees
Ms. Chambers asked anyone attending the meeting by phone to please email her with that information.
Public Comment
None.
Adjournment
There being no further business before Council, the meeting adjourned at 12:28 p.m. The next regularly scheduled meeting is November 4, 2020 at 12:00 Noon via Zoom.