ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 17, 1996 TAG: 9608190066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ALEXANDRIA
SOURCE: Associated Press
The Justice Department asked a federal court Friday to throw out a suit by the state of Virginia seeking to close the District of Columbia's Lorton Reformatory in Fairfax County.
The department filed a notice of motion in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia saying the state suit fails to cite a claim on which its request could be granted.
The state's suit contends that the U.S. Constitution prohibits Congress from authorizing the operation of a prison for D.C. offenders outside the district.
The state also alleges that the attorney general of the United States lacks the authority under federal law to designate Lorton as the place of confinement for district prisoners.
``Both claims are baseless,'' the Justice Department said. ``Congress has ample constitutional authority to control the use and occupancy of all federal property, including the Lorton Reformatory.''
The department also cited a 1940 congressional statute saying that the attorney general is authorized by federal law to designate any ``available, suitable, and appropriate institutions, whether maintained by the District of Columbia government, the federal government, or otherwise, or whether within or without the District of Columbia.''
There was no immediate response from the state's attorney general.
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