THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 27, 1995 TAG: 9505270405
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
A constitutional standoff between Norfolk's top prosecutor and a General District Court judge, headed for trial next week, has ended with both sides agreeing to drop the case.
The power struggle posed an unusual question: Who decides which violent misdemeanor crimes should be prosecuted - the judge or prosecutor?
Judge Charles R. Cloud had said he can make those decisions in his courtroom. He issued an order to that effect in September.
But Commonwealth's Attorney Charles D. Griffith Jr. struck back with a lawsuit challenging Cloud's authority. A trial was scheduled to start Wednesday.
Now, Griffith has dropped his lawsuit, saying it is no longer needed because Cloud dropped his order last month. At that time, Cloud also transferred from criminal court, his home for the past nine years, to traffic court.
Paperwork ending the lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Norfolk Circuit Court. It was signed May 19.
Griffith could not be reached for comment Friday. He was prosecuting a capital murder case.
In an interview Friday, Cloud said the lawsuit's resolution was not a compromise between himself and Griffith. He said he withdrew his September order, which created new procedures in his courtroom, because it was no longer necessary.
He said prosecutors are now available in General District Court to help with bail decisions when the court convenes in the morning, and the General Assembly is gradually recognizing victim rights.
But Cloud added that his biggest concern, that prosecutors take on violent misdemeanor cases, has not yet been addressed.
``My concern all along has been to make public the complaints that citizens raise about our justice system, especially victims of violent misdemeanor crime,'' Cloud said.
Cloud said he transferred voluntarily from criminal court to traffic court last month, in part, because many people perceived the standoff between him and Griffith as personal. He said his actions were just an attempt to improve the justice system, and not the result of a personal grudge against Griffith.
The controversy started in August when Cloud sent a 200-page report to the state attorney general, saying prosecutors were ignoring violent misdemeanor cases in his courtroom.
Cloud asked the attorney general if he had the authority to order prosecutors to handle those cases.
In Norfolk and many large cities, prosecutors do not handle misdemeanors in lower court. In these courts, most misdemeanors are pressed by the victims themselves, with no legal help.
Cloud said this was unfair because many defendants get legal help from court-appointed attorneys. This, Cloud said, left the impression that justice is biased against women and minorities, who are often victims of misdemeanor violence.
But Griffith and City Attorney Philip R. Trapani said they did not have enough staffers to handle such cases.
On Sept. 28, Cloud pushed the issue by ordering Griffith and Trapani to send prosecutors to his court for serious cases. Two days later, Griffith sued Cloud, challenging the judge's authority to issue the order. Two days after that, another judge temporarily stopped Cloud from enforcing his order until a trial was held.
In October, Attorney General James S. Gilmore III issued an advisory opinion that Cloud had overstepped his authority. He wrote that Griffith and Trapani have sole discretion over which misdemeanors they prosecute.
Both Cloud and Griffith eventually hired private lawyers, at public expense, to represent them in court.
On April 14, Cloud dropped his order containing the new courtroom procedures. He said Friday it was no longer needed because the General Assembly has enacted laws and resolutions recognizing victim rights.
``I feel like my goals of improving the justice system have been started on their way,'' Cloud said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
Cloud
Griffith
KEYWORDS: MISDEMEANORS NORFOLK GENERAL DISTRICT COURT by CNB