Keeping up with these court cases is an endeavor that never lets you down—there’s
always an update, an appeal or a motion. Here’s to folks who make their way in the court system, month after month, year after year.
The Ivy Landfill death
In April 2003, Patricia Stephens’ husband, Wayne, was killed in an accident involving an oil tank at the former Ivy Landfill, run by the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority (RSWA). At the time of the death, Ivy residents had to keep mum on complaints because of a gag order issued in a 1998 settlement over groundwater pollution from the facility. But in 2005, Stephens sued the RSWA, the City, and the County, alleging that if she and her husband had access to gripes about the facility, he might still be alive. In December 2005, federal Judge Norman K. Moon overturned a previous ruling, and said he would allow Stephens’ $16 million First Amendment suit to go forward. Debbie Wyatt represents her—the case is currently in deposition stages.
The fired critic
In October 2005, Dena Bowers was fired from her job in the human resources department at UVA for forwarding an e-mail from the NAACP that was critical of the University’s chartered restructuring. She got a lawyer—Debbie Wyatt again—and is suing UVA for denying her due process when they fired her. Judge Norman K. Moon—again—ruled in November 2006 that her 14th Amendment claims could hold water. In an odd twist, another judge ruled in December that Bowers would have to reveal co-critics responsible for creating the NAACP documents after UVA filed a motion to obtain the information.
The party-hardy parents
In 2002, George and Elisa Robinson thought they’d throw a party for her son’s 16th birthday. When cops busted 30 teens, who the Robinsons had reportedly coached on how to disguise alcohol breath, the couple got harsh sentences: eight years for 16 counts of contributing to delinquency. Judge Paul M. Peatross in Albemarle Circuit Court reduced the sentences to 27 months each, but these beer serving ‘rents didn’t give up. They appealed to the Court of Appeals, which upheld the sentence, as did the Virginia Supreme Court last week. Elisha Robinson’s attorney plans another appeal.
