The Washington Post - 30.08.2019

B4 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.FRIDAY, AUGUST 30 , 2019

immigrants are detained for mi-

nor offenses and that even when

they commit more significant

crimes, the council should not

decide whether they get access to

a lawyer.

“When you conflate criminal

history and the immigration sys-

tem, it’s extremely problematic.

For one, minority communities

are disproportionately policed,”

Katz said.

“Immigration judges already

have the rubric to decide whether

someone’s criminal history is a

problem for them to stay, so they

can make that decision,” White

added. “What we’re doing here is

preventing due process.”

Montgomery County Council

members will discuss distribu-

tion of the $170,000 after they

return from recess in September.

When they do, they will likely be

met with protest not only from

advocates seeking more liberal

rules but also from residents op-

posed to additional funding.

Anti-immigrant sentiment in

the suburb has been stoked in

recent weeks by a spate of violent

crime, including the alleged rape

of a young girl by two men who

according to ICE were in the

country unlawfully at the time of

their arrests.

“I’m very upset. They’re put-

ting illegal criminals over citi-

zens,” said Shawn Nie, a Mont-

gomery resident who works in

biological research. Many of his

friends protested the legal de-

fense fund at public hearings last

year, he said, and he thinks they

would be prepared to do the same

this year.

“If they had announced this,”

he said. “Oh man, a lot of people

would have been very, v ery angry.”

[email protected]

not criminal violation.

Immigrants in detention are

also more likely to have been

separated from their families,

and their cases are frequently

expedited, advocates say.

At Elrich’s urging, the council

recently approved an additional

$170,000 for “Legal Representa-

tion for Residents Detained for

Deportation Proceedings.”

The county executive also

wants to loosen the strings at-

tached to that funding. Elrich’s

staff has suggested that instead of

using the list of criminal exclu-

sions when awarding grants to

organizations that help immi-

grants, the county should state

that funds cannot be used to

represent “undocumented immi-

grants who have been convicted

of serious criminal offenses.”

While advocates approve of

this change, council member

Hans Riemer (D-At Large) said he

has reservations.

“The intent is similar but it’s

more ambiguous. This can create

challenges when everybody in-

volved does not know what the

rules are,” he said.

Montgomery State’s Attorney

John McCarthy (D) noted that

“serious crimes” is not a legally

recognized term.

“Reasonable minds can differ

on what is considered ‘serious,’ ”

he said. “I don’t t hink the suggest-

ed language gives any guidance

whatsoever.”

McCarthy became a target of

activists last year when he sup-

ported a move by the council to

add 40 crimes to the exclusion

list. In an interview Tuesday, he

maintained that “glaring omis-

sions” to the original list would

have placed public safety at risk.

Advocates counter that most

migrants subject to deportation

but not necessarily in ICE cus-

tody. Among the dozens of clients

served by Ayuda Inc., Kids in

Need of Defense, and the Hebrew

Immigrant Aid Society through

this funding, only one individual

was in detention.

“These groups all do good

work, but ultimately, the money

did not move the ball in terms of

getting more detained immi-

grants represented,” said Nicho-

las Katz, a senior manager of legal

services at CASA, a Latino and

immigration advocacy group.

“A nd let’s be clear: Those are the

people in the most need.”

According to advocates, it is

harder for immigrants in ICE

detention to reach lawyers, file

paperwork and generally access

legal counsel. People detained be-

cause they are in the country

illegally are not entitled to public

defenders because it is a civil and

wake of this change, the CAIR

coalition is applying to the D.C.

grant program for the first time,

White said.

Now, advocacy groups hope to

score a similar victory in neigh-

boring Montgomery County,

where nearly 1 in 3 residents is

foreign-born.

Montgomery officials recently

added $170,000 to a $370,000

pilot program to fund legal de-

fense for immigrants, making it

the second-largest budget alloca-

tion in the region after D.C.

County Executive Marc Elrich

(D) wants to make it easier for

advocates to access some of that

new funding to help immigrants

facing deportation.

Advocacy groups say the coun-

ty’s current list of exceptions at-

tached to the funding means the

money can’t reach those who

need it most: individuals de-

tained by Immigration and Cus-

toms Enforcement.

As many as 9,000 immigrants

in Montgomery are facing depor-

tation, around 90 of whom are

detained by ICE every year, offi-

cials say.

The CAIR coalition, which was

originally slated to receive a

$374,000 grant from the county

last year, rejected the money after

the County Council lengthened

the list of criminal convictions

that would disqualify an immi-

grant from receiving aid.

According to White, the exclu-

sions were the most extensive

among similar programs across

the country and would have dis-

qualified 75 percent of detained

immigrants from the county.

In September 2018, Montgom-

ery’s County Council awarded the

funding to three other groups

that provide legal counsel to im-

removed, said Kelly White, the

Detained Adult Program director

at the Capital Area Immigrants’

Rights (CAIR) Coalition, which

leads the legal defense efforts of

low-income, detained immi-

grants across Washington.

This marks a significant policy

shift in the District, where the

mayor has previously rerouted

funding meant for the represen-

tation of detained adults to other

immigrant service programs,

prompting criticism from advo-

cates as well as legislators. In the

County recently approved
$200,000 for a pilot program.
In t he District, Mayor Muriel E.
Bowser (D) increased funding for
a legal aid program from
$900,000 to $2.5 million. More
importantly, advocates say, B ows-
er removed a clause that had
prevented organizations from
seeking the grant money to repre-
sent detained adults.
Advocates were told at a July 22
meeting that the clause would be

FUNDS FROM B1

BY RACHEL WEINER

Democratic candidates for

chief prosecutor in Arlington and

Fairfax upset longtime incum-

bents in June primaries with

promises to stop charging mari-

juana possession cases. Now Al-

exandria Commonwealth’s Attor-

ney Bryan Porter, who is up for

reelection in two years, is taking a

step in that direction with a diver-

sion program for misdemeanor

cases.

Virginia already allows diver-

sion for first-time offenders, but

Alexandria’s program will go be-

yond the provisions in state law.

Participants do not have to plead

guilty or stipulate that the facts

support guilt, and no fines or

court costs will be imposed.

While the initial charge would

not disappear, Porter said in a

statement that his office “will

liberally agree” to have such rec-

ords expunged.

The program requires a drug

screening, about 15 hours of com-

munity service and compliance

with probation. After six to nine

months, if a person has complied

with those requirements, the case

will be dismissed.

Steve T. Descano, Democratic

candidate for the Fairfax prosecu-

tor job, praised the plan in a

tweet, adding, “Hope we can

bring these types of reforms to”

Fairfax. His independent oppo-

nent, former federal prosecutor

Jonathan Fahey, says decriminal-

izing marijuana should be left to

statewide officials.

Porter said he was looking for a

way to minimize punishment for

marijuana possession in light of a

Virginia Supreme Court ruling

that judges can block the dismiss-

al of such cases.

“In my opinion, we do have the

discretion to say, we’re not pros-

ecuting it any more and leave it

between the police department

and the defendant, like a traffic

ticket,” h e said. But he argued that

could lead to worse outcomes for

defendants, who will have less

ability to negotiate.

In Arlington, where Parisa De-

hghani-Tafti, a longtime exonera-

tion attorney, defeated Common-

wealth’s Attorney Theo Stamos

with a promise to stop prosecu-

ting marijuana possession, police

say they will continue to bring

such cases to court themselves.

“I think this is the best compro-

mise that allows people to avoid

any criminal record, it avoids any

costs, but it comports with my

understanding of the current

law,” Porter said.

The state Supreme Court sided

with judges in Norfolk and Ports-

mouth who blocked prosecutorial

efforts to dismiss marijuana cases

en masse. But state Sen. Scott A.

Surovell (D-Fairfax) said judges

in Alexandria might not raise the

same objections, and he believes

the state Supreme Court would

accept outright dismissal of these

cases if a judge is part of the

process.

But, he said, “Creating a local

marijuana diversion and ex-

pungement docket is the right

thing to do given that the House

of Delegates has continued to

block even the most basic crimi-

nal justice reform in Virginia.”

Porter, likewise, said that “in a

perfect world, the Assembly

would decriminalize marijuana

possession and it wouldn’t be my

responsibility at all, and we could

focus on more serious crimes.”

[email protected]

VIRGINIA

Alexandria to o≠er marijuana diversion program

Plan for misdemeanor

possession cases comes

amid political pledges

BY DANA HEDGPETH

A jury convicted a 41-year-old

man this week of several charges

after he shot and wounded two

sheriff ’s deputies in Loudoun

County as they responded to a

domestic violence situation.

Douglas Johnson Jr. was

found guilty of two charges of

attempted capital murder for

shooting the two sheriff ’s depu-

ties on Christmas Eve 2017. He

was also convicted after a week-

long trial of nine other felonies,

including malicious wounding of

the officers and multiple fire-

arms charges.

Johnson could face 74 years in

prison and has a sentencing

hearing scheduled for December.

He’s being held without bond.

“It is reprehensible that any-

one w ould attempt to m urder the

very people that protect our

community every day,” Chief

Deputy Commonwealth’s Attor-

ney Nicole Wittmann said. “I

applaud the bravery of our depu-

ties and am pleased that the jury

has held Johnson accountable

for his actions.”

The incident happened the

afternoon of Dec. 24, 2017, when

three Loudoun County sheriff ’s

deputies responded to a domes-

tic violence call made by John-

son’s 19-year-old daughter. Her

father had “shoved her out of

their home” on Hollow Mountain

Place in the Sugarland Run area,

officials said.

When deputies arrived, they

talked to Johnson, who was in a

bedroom. After he was told he

would be arrested, officials said,

he got angry and “began yelling

at his family.”

Officials said the deputies

tried to “de-escalate the situation

by speaking calmly with John-

son” about the reasons for the

arrest, according to a statement

from authorities. But as they

talked with Johnson, he dove

into the bedroom closet and

grabbed a loaded .45-caliber

handgun, authorities said.

When officers went into the

closet to try to apprehend John-

son, he fired the gun three times

and wounded two of the sher-

iff’s deputies. The deputies

eventually were able to restrain

Johnson using a Ta ser and get

the g un away from him, officials

said.

During the trial, officials said

Johnson testified that he had

been trying to kill himself. Ac-

cording to a statement from

prosecutors, Johnson said he

“had not been conscious of firing

the gun, due to the effects of

being stunned by a Ta ser and the

officers’ physical attempts to re-

strain him.”

But prosecutors said Johnson

had said nothing to detectives

about a possible suicide attempt.

Authorities said none of the

officers d rew a firearm u ntil after

Johnson began shooting. Both of

the deputies who were shot have

returned to active duty with the

sheriff ’s office.

“This was a violent situation

where l ives could have been lost,”

Loudoun County Sheriff Mike

Chapman said in the statement.

“This [verdict] sends a clear

message that anyone who com-

mits an assault on law enforce-

ment will be prosecuted to the

fullest extent of the law,” he said.

[email protected]

VIRGINIA

Man is convicted of shooting 2 Loudoun deputies

41-year-old could be

sentenced to 74 years in

attempted murder case

Local governments increase legal aid funds for immigrants

MATT MCCLAIN/THE WASHINGTON POST

Alexandria Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter, left, in 2015. His office’s diversion program

requires a drug screening, about 15 hours of community service and compliance with probation. After

six to nine months, if those requirements are met, the case will be dismissed.

Montgomery County

officials recently added

$170,000 to a $370,000

pilot program to fund

legal defense for

immigrants. The county

executive wants to

make it easier for

advocates to access

some of the money.

N1

9-06

98

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