Racial disparities in Richmond police stops causes a felony prosecution dismissal, says Fairfax DUI lawyer

Racial disparities in police treatment of suspects have come to the glaring forefront in a remarkable dismissal of a federal felony prosecution in Virginia. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I repeat what Virginia federal trial judge John A. Gibney, Jr., said this past week: “Black drivers have a problem in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond Police Department (‘RPD’) officers stop Black drivers five times more frequently than white drivers.” U.S. v. Keith Rodney Moore, No. 3:21cr42 (E.D. Va., Feb. 12, 2024). In Moore, police made an effort to pull over his car for allegedly suspicious temporary automobile tags. Moore fled by car and then by foot. Inside his car, police found a gun in his car. Moore got indicted for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, which brings a stiff mandatory minimum incarceration sentence if convicted.

Does my criminal trial judge acknowledge Virginia’s racist past and the racism that still persist?

Judge Gibney accepted the defense expert testimony about racial disparities, including: “‘Black drivers were 5.13 times more likely to be stopped’ than white drivers… Once RPD officers stopped those Black drivers, they were far more likely to search Black drivers and their cars than they were to search white drivers. And, once stopped, ‘Black drivers were 12.67 times more likely than White drivers to be arrested as a result of the stop.’… Black drivers felt the discriminatory effect of RPD’s traffic enforcement throughout Richmond: regardless of whether Black drivers moved through a predominantly Black or a predominantly white neighborhood, they were more likely to be pulled over than a white driver.” Moore. That is beyond a stinging indictment of RPD behavior in 2020 that smacks of what we would have expected more during Jim Crow times.  Does your Virginia criminal trial judge acknowledge Virginia’s racist past and the racism that still persists?

Is my judge ready to dismiss my prosecution for a nexus with racial disparities in police stops?

It is one thing for Judge Gibney to have concluded that Black drivers in 2020 were victimized by police at such a high rate, and a remarkably wonderful thing for him to have dismissed Moore’s prosecution over racial disparities, which he did. The criminal justice system is not colorblind. Being drawn from the human population, we will have a certain number of judges, prosecutors, police and jailers who are guided by racism. Whether or not Judge Gibney’s dismissal of Keith Moore’s felony prosecution gets overturned on appeal his ruling is a wake up call for police departments nationwide to clean up their acts when it comes to race.

When the prosecutor steps on his own tail in seeking judicial reconsideration

Unless intending to play to an ultimately appellate audience, the chief United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia made a monumental blunder in using such patronizing language with Judge Gibney as the following in seeking reconsideration of his dismissal of Keith Moore’s felony prosecution  over racial disparities: “While this Court’s decision to dismiss the indictment against a felon with an illegal gun was undoubtedly motivated by good intentions…And here is another doozy from the prosecution’s reconsideration motion: “the Court failed
to consider the evidence that RPD allocates its limited police resources to the areas of the city reporting the greatest number of violent crimes…”

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz tailor-makes your defense to enhance your prospects for as much victory as possible in court, and to reduce your risks against Virginia DUI, felony and misdemeanor prosecutions. Jon has successfully defended thousands of criminal defendants and is a trial veteran, having taken hundreds of criminal cases to trial. . Find out in concrete terms how Jon Katz will deliver you a great defense, with your free in-person confidential initial consultation with Jon about your court-pending prosecution. Call 703-383-1100 to meet with Jon, on your road to pursuing your best possible defense.