The Washington Post - USA (2022-03-06)

C4 EZ RE THEWASHINGTONPOST.SUNDAY,MARCH 6 , 2022

BYROBERT“J.R.”GURLEY

W

henVirginiaGov. GlennYoungkin(R)met

with membersof the FrederickDouglass

Foundation to celebrateBlack History

Month, he told us, “EveryVirginiande-

servesdignityandrespect,theopportunitytopursue

ourdreams,andinclusionintheVirginiafamily.”

Towardthisend,welookforwardtoworkingwith

thegovernortomakethepromisesofenvironmental

justice arealityfor underserved communitiesin our

state.

YoungkinrecognizedFebruaryasatimeto“honor

the historyand achievementsof Black Americans,”

andwewillneedhisleadershiptotacklethechallenges

andexpandtheopportunitiesbeforeus.

Morethan1millionpeopleliveinruralVirginia,yet

oftenthesecommunities’opinionsareovershadowed

byprofit-drivencompaniesthatseektobuildontheir

untouchedland. Whyshould the future economic

viabilityofthese communitiesbe traded for justan-

othercorporateproject?

Theongoingreviewofthe proposed Green Ridge

mega-landfill is the mostrecent example of environ-

mental injustice for arural Virginiacommunity, and

itsoutcomewillhavelastingconsequences.Asanative

Virginianwho has worked to ensure opportunityfor

all,Ibelievethatrejectingthisproposedmega-landfill

wouldbeamajorstepinclosingthegapsandinequali-

tieswithinourstate.

Thelandfill is plannedfor CumberlandCounty, a

historicallypoor and rural area whose population is

morethan30percentBlack.Thelandfillthreatensto

deprivethelocalcommunityoftheeconomicstability

and opportunities it sorely lacks. Multiple studies

demonstratethe unintended, adverse consequences

of amega-landfill on alocal economy, along with its

obviousenvironmentalimplications, such as air and

water pollutants.Most notably,the presence of a

mega-landfill drives down the values of houses and

other real estate assets in the vicinity. As aresult,

depreciationofrealestatevalueswillhinderCumber-

land County’seconomicabilitytogrow, attractnew

businessesandinvestments,andleveltheplayingfield

withitsneighboringcommunities.

Thenegativeeconomiceffectsofthemega-landfill

willhaveadisproportionateimpactonBlackcommu-

nities,becauseoftheirhistoricdisadvantagesandlack

of safety nets.Roughly 74 percentof Cumberland

Countyresidentsown their homes, so declining land

value would be felt far and wide and could have a

generationalimpactonmanyfamilies.

Themega-landfillplanblatantlyignoresthesocio-

economicandenvironmentalimplicationsitwillhave

onCumberlandCountyandVirginiaasawhole.

This is whythe FrederickDouglassFoundation,

together with the Healthcare EqualityNetwork, is

encouraging our state’sleaderstotakeaction and

cementthemselvesasbeaconsofhopefortheseover-

lookedcommunities.

Fortunately, thereisanexistinglaw thatcanhelp

to delegitimize andrejectthe Green Ridgeproject.

Passed in 2020, the VirginiaEnvironmental Justice

Actdefines environmentaljustice as “the fair treat-

ment and meaningfulinvolvement of everyperson,

regardless of race, color,national origin, income,

faith,ordisability,regarding the development, im-

plementation,orenforcementofanyenvironmental

law,regulation,orpolicy.”However,the presenceof

thismega-landfill woulddisproportionately pollute

essential necessitiesofthe nearby Black communi-

ties, including access to clean water fromtheirpri-

vatewells. Clearly, the mega-landfill’s adverseand

disproportionateeffectsonourunderservedcommu-

nities do not reflect the "fair treatment”envisioned

byourstate’slaw.

UpholdingtheVirginiaEnvironmentalJusticeAct

and blocking this projectwillnot onlyprotectthese

vulnerable individualsfrom the physical and eco-

nomicimpactsoflivingnearanunwantedlandfill,but

italsocouldbethefirststepinrestoringthesecommu-

nities’ confidence in the stateleadership thathas

neglectedtheirhealthandprosperityforfartoolong.

To demandYoungkin solve all of Virginia’shistoric

challengesofenvironmentalandsocialjusticewould

be unrealistic and counterproductive. However,by

empoweringthose whoare consistently overlooked

and rejecting projects thatare blatantly harmfulto

neighboringcommunities,wecansetourstateonthe

rightpathoftacklingthisdeeplyentrenchedissue.

Thewriteris president of theVirginia chapteroftheFrederick

Douglass Foundation.

Virginia can

deliver on

environmental

justice promises

BYCHADREESE

S

incestate legislative sessions

kicked off, billstoend qualified

immunityhavebeenintroduced

in Virginiaand Maryland. But

one regional player remains conspicu-

ouslyabsentfromtheseefforts to re-

store justice for victims of civil rights

abuses:D.C.

Qualifiedimmunityisafederallegal

doctrinethatprotectsgovernmentem-

ployees—even when theyviolate con-

stitutional rights —fromlawsuits,

whether it’s aschool official strip-

searching astudent or police officers

stealingcashandrarecoins.

Justlastyear,therewashopethatthe

D.C.Council might provideawork-

around for the problemand give vic-

tims apathtoward justice. Duringa

committee hearingon the D.C.Police

Reform Commission’s recommenda-

tions, multiple advocacygroups—in-

cluding the American Civil Liberties

Union,DCJusticeLabandtheInstitute

for Justice —testified in favor of the

commission’s recommendation to al-

low suits in local courts and shared

model legislationtheyagreed would

getthejobdone.

Ifcitizensarenotabovethelaw,then

governmentofficialsarenotabovethe

Constitution. But, because of qualified

immunity, it is remarkably difficult to

sue governmentofficialswhen they

violateyourrights.Qualifiedimmunity

involvesajudge-created two-parttest:

(1) Arightsviolation has to takeplace

(2)thatviolationmustbe“clearlyestab-

lished”incase law. Realistically, that

meansyou can have your dayincourt

only if youcan find another case with

theexactsame circumstances and

whereajudgeruledagainstthegovern-

ment. Because judges can throw out

caseswithout even decidingifarights

violation occurred, this often ends up

beinganinsurmountablebarrier.

Unfortunately,there’s been no indi-

cationfromthe D.C.Councilsince the

2021hearingthatthisissueisapriority,

despite anew studyfrom the Institute

for JusticerankingD.C.asone of the

worst jurisdictions in the countryfor

victimsofrightsabuses.

D.C.—along with along with Dela-

ware and four other states —received

an Fgrade. That’s because, justlike

federalimmunitydoctrines such as

qualifiedimmunity, D.C.’scourts and

locallawsworktokeepthecourthouse

doorsshut tightagainst citizenssuing

todefendtheirrights.

Itisalmostimpossible,forinstance,

to sue D.C.government employees for

inflictingpersonal injurybecauseof

doctrinesthatareevenmoreprotective

ofofficialsthanfederalqualifiedimmu-

nity. Plus, D.C.lacks alocal-level ana-

loguetoSection 1983, the federal civil

rightsstatute.

Thegoodnewsisthatstatesaremore

than capableofcreating pathways to

justice,andD.C.justneedstocatchup.

NewMexico leads the nationinstate-

lawredress thankstothe NewMexico

CivilRightsAct.Enacted in 2021, that

lawletsvictimssuetheemployerofany

governmentworkerwho violates their

stateconstitutional rightsand specifi-

cally bans theuse of “qualified” or

“sovereign” immunities. Theresult?A

guaranteethatcourts have to take

rights violations in thatstate seriously

—andanA-minusgrade.

WhyisD.C.lagging behindother

states instead of leading on govern-

mentaccountability?

Some might point to crime rates,

particularlycarjackings, as evidence

thatnow isnot the time to consider

policereformlegislation.

But those following the qualified

immunitydebateknow that“police

accountabilityvs.crimereduction”isa

false dichotomy. As Evan Douglas, a

former patrol officer withthe Metro-

politan Police Department, wrote last

August,“Endingqualifiedimmunityis

the bestpathforward for both law

enforcement and thepublic; doingso

will allow judges to hear the most

grievous cases without endangering

policeofficers.”

Thoseworriedthatendingqualified

immunitywillmakepolicingmoredif-

ficult need only look to the Supreme

Court’sdecisioninGrahamv.Connor,

whichclearlyinstructscourtstoadopt

theperspective“ofareasonableofficer

on the scene, rather than with the

20/20visionofhindsight,”whenexam-

ininganofficer’sactions.

Inotherwords,endingqualifiedim-

munity doesn’tmeangovernmentoffi-

cialswillbepunished for good-faith,

split-second mistakes. But it would

helprestoretrustandaccountabilityto

governmentofficialswho rely on that

trusttokeeptheircommunitiessafe.

Attheendoftheday,theD.C.Council

hasaclearchoice:Itcanmoveforward

and end qualified immunity, giving

victims of civilrights abuses apathto

justice,oritcancontinuetoignorethe

problem while residents paythe price

withtheirconstitutionalrights.

Thewriteristheassistant direct of activism

at theInstituteforJustice,anonprofitpublic

interestlawfirmandadvocacyorganization.

D.C. trails Maryland and Virginia in civil rights efforts

BYISSAKOHLER-HAUSMANN

ANDAVERYGILBERT

M

aryland took akey step

towardreformingthe pa-

role process when it re-

voked the governor’s power

to veto parole for individualsserving

life sentences.Yetthe useofparole

denialsas an opportunitytoresen-

tenceindividualsaccordingtosubjec-

tive retributive views or to garner

politicalsupportcontinuestohappen

in Maryland and on parole boards

throughoutthecountry. And,asithas

throughout history, this dangerous

collisionofpoliticsandpunishmentis

particularly harming Black Ameri-

cans, who are incarcerated in state

prisonsatnearlyfivetimestherateof

White Americansand accountfor 71

percentof Maryland’s prison popula-

tion.

Parole decisions—the decisionto

grant someone’s freedomon comple-

tionofaminimumsentence—should

be an evidence-basedassessmentof

rehabilitationandcurrentrisktosoci-

ety. Minimumsentencesare setbya

democratically elected and account-

able legislative body,and sentencing

judgescanselectsentenceswithinthe

rangeofauthorizedminimums.Un-

fortunately,all too often parole deci-

sion-makers takeitupon themselves

to resentencefor the crime —onlyin

the absenceof due processprotec-

tions. Theparole process is often

marked by abusesof power,rushed

and uninformedassessmentsof the

crime,andpoliticalconsiderations.

Several factors promotethis abuse

ofpoweramongparoleboards,includ-

ing vague and overly broad statutes

thatparolebodieshaveinterpretedto

givethemtheauthoritytoresentence,

aswellasalackoftrainingonhowto

assess rehabilitation or understand-

ing thatthe legislature and judges —

not parole boards—are entrusted

with determiningpunishment.And

toooften theabuses stem frompoliti-

cal pressureson the parole commis-

sion—inmoststates,includingMary-

land,anappointmentbythegovernor.

As formerMaryland governor Parris

Glendening (D)recently admitted,

some of his parole decisions were

guided by politicsrather than public

safety.

Maryland’s statute,likethatofNew

York,Wisconsinand31otherstates,is

wronglyinterpreted to allow aparole

commissionto do twothingsthatare

beyond the legitimate authorityofan

administrative body.First,these stat-

utes invite the parole commissionto

considerthe “seriousness”of the of-

fense in making parole determina-

tions. As aresult, the parole commis-

sion revisits the same information

presentedto the juryand sentencing

courtonlywithout theprotections of

due processand overrulesthe deter-

mination of the sentencingcourtto

imposemorepunishmentforthesame

crime. Often, parole commissioners

makeadministrative findings of facts

beyond whatwould have had to be

provedbeyondareasonabledoubttoa

jury(oradmittedbythedefendant)for

theconvictionandbasetheirdenialon

these newly found facts withoutany

evidentiarystandardwhatsoever.

Second,parolebodiesmakerelease

decisionsunder legal standardsthat

are so vague and overbroadthatthey

amountto no guidanceat all. They

maydenyrelease if release would be

“incompatiblewiththewelfareofsoci-

ety,”butindividualcommissionersfeel

freetochoosewhose“welfare”should

beconsideredorhowcompetinginter-

ests should be weighed.Forexample,

anaggrievedvictimmightfeelthathis

or her welfareis served if the parole

applicantisincarceratedforlifewith-

out parole,but the childrenof the

applicantmightfeelthattheirwelfare

is enhanced if their parent comes

home to care for them. This leaves

parole bodies to operatewithalmost

unfettered discretion over one of the

mostconsequentialdecisionsanagen-

cy can be entrusted with: aperson’s

liberty.

IfMarylandisseriousaboutreform-

ing parole, it should revisit its parole

release statute to ensure thatthe pa-

role commissioners makedecisions

based on rehabilitation and maturity,

not on their own subjective assess-

mentsoftheseriousnessofthecrime,

and then it should train parole board

memberstocompetentlymakepublic

safetydecisions.

Arbitraryand subjective parole de-

cisionsare antithetical to the very

principleson which this nation was

founded:separation of powers,right

to due processand representative de-

mocracy. Suchdecisionsalsoperpetu-

ateracial bias in our justice system.

Forexample, aTimes Union analysis

found thataWhite inmate in aNew

Yorkprisonissignificantlymorelikely

on averagetobereleasedon parole

thanaBlackorHispanicperson.

Parole decisionsare constitutional

onlyiftheymakenoattempttoresen-

tenceapersonforacrimebutinstead

focus on aprofessionalassessmentof

rehabilitationandreformfoundedon

evidence to determine one thing:

whetherthatindividualposesariskto

society.

With everyparole decision,aper-

son’s liberty is at stake. Thedifficult

decisionof how to punishcrimes —

about which manypeople in our soci-

etyhavedeeplyheldandwidelydiver-

gent views —should be made in the

mannerourconstitutionalsystemhas

setforth: by the democratically elect-

ed and accountablelegislative body.

Sentencing judgescan selectsen-

tences withinthatrange, but they

would never be allowedto exceed the

minimumterms providedfor by the

legislaturebasedontheirownsubjec-

tive views of punishmentor to garner

politicalsupport.Whyshouldagover-

nororparolebodybeallowedtodoso?

Asthisnationcomestogripwiththe

enduringconsequencesofmassincar-

cerationspurredbyyearsof“toughon

crime”policiesandpolitics,it’stimeto

removepoliticalagendasandpersonal

biases from decisionsabout who de-

servesfreedomandwhodoesnot.

IssaKohler-Hausmannis amemberof the

JusticeCollaboratoryatYaleLawSchool

andtheLawandSocietyFellowat the

SimonsInstitutefortheTheoryof

ComputingattheUniversityof Californiaat

Berkeley.AveryGilbertisdirectorofthe

StrategicAdvocacyClinicat Yale Law

Schoolandapartnerat EngageStrategies.

Maryland must go further on parole reform

MICHAELROBINSONCHAVEZ/THEWASHINGTONPOST

TheMaryland StateHouseand stateflag in Annapolis.

Local Opinions

WASHINGTONPOST.COM/LOCALOPINIONS [email protected]

BYJUDYSCOTTFELDMAN

T

heSmithsonianistryingtoidenti-

fylocationsfortwonewmuseums:

theNationalMuseumoftheAmer-

ican Latino and the Smithsonian

American Women’s HistoryMuseum.

Wherewilltheygo?

Intheauthorizinglegislation,Congress

identifiedseveralpotentialsitesonornear

theNationalMall.Oneprimeoptionunder

consideration is to repurposethe historic

Arts and Industries Buildingnext to the

Smithsonian Castle, but thatbuilding

wouldbedifficult to upgrade to modern

museumstandards.

TheNationalMallCoalitionhasabetter

idea.

RenownedlocalarchitectArthurCotton

Moorehasdevisedacompellingandviable

solutionfortwonewmuseumsitesonthe

Mall.Moorehasalongandrespectedrepu-

tation in Washington, having worked on

innumerable newand preservation proj-

ects,includingrenovationoftheLibraryof

Congress.Heisalongtimevicechairofthe

coalition.

In hissolution,side-by-sidenewmu-

seums would be situated along the Mall’s

historicnorth-southaxis,asdefinedbythe

1791 L’Enfant Plan and the 1901to1902

McMillanPlan,theblueprintsfortheMall.

Thenorth-southaxis extends from the

WhiteHousetotheJeffersonMemorial;it

intersects, at the Washington Monument,

theeast-westaxisfromtheLincolnMemo-

rialtotheCapitol.

Moore’s twosites wouldcreate anew

pedestrian destination on whatispoorly

utilizedMallacreagesouthoftheWashing-

tonMonumentacross15thStreetfromthe

HolocaustMuseum.Thisareacurrentlyis

occupied by crisscrossingaccess roads;

those roads can be relocated. Because

floodingisaseriousconcern at the Tidal

Basin,thenewsiteswouldberaisedonan

embankment. Thegood news is the latest

federal governmentclimate changemaps

projectthatstormsurgein2050wouldnot

inundatethishigherground.Apedestrian

bridgeelevated over the roads running

between the Washington Monumentand

TidalBasinwouldcorrecttheexistingdan-

gerouspedestriancrossing.

Importantly,Moore’s conceptcreates

twoplots,eachaboutthesizeoftheNation-

al Museum of the AmericanIndian, that

notonlyarelocatedontheexistinghistori-

calMallbutalso,ineffect,wouldcomplete

anunrealized“WashingtonCommons”el-

ement of the historic McMillan Plan that

envisionedalivelyculturaldestinationon

thisland.Becauseofthecreationofalarge

TidalBasin,itwasneverrealized.Instead,

themodernautomobiletookoverthisvalu-

ableMallspace.

Themuseum sponsorshave adifficult

choice to trytofind space on the already

fullMallortolocatesomewhereelseinthe

capital. We agree with the 24 membersof

theSenatewhowroteSmithsonianSecre-

taryLonnie G. Bunch III on Nov. 22, that

the museumsbelong on the Mall to high-

light“theuntoldandoverlookedcontribu-

tions”ofbothwomenandLatinos.

Thesenators’letter,however,ismistak-

en in one important respect. It states,

“Fromourperspective,theNationalMallis

the two-mile park from the Capitol to the

LincolnMemorial, boundedon the north

and south by Constitutionand Independ-

enceAvenues.”Thisdefinitionisinconsis-

tent with the historic L’Enfant and Mc-

Millanplans’visionoftheMallasaunified

landscapelaidoutacrosstwoaxes,withthe

Washington Monument at itsheart.

Moore’sproposedmuseumsitesareexact-

lyconsistentwith,andreinforcetoimpor-

tanteffect,thehistoricconceptoftheMall

cross-axisconnectingtheiconicsymbolsof

Americandemocracy.

Ultimately,any long-term solution for

future Mall development,and the inevi-

tablefuturemuseumsandmonuments,is

for Congressto charter anew McMillan-

type commission to update the McMillan

Plan.Anewcomprehensive,forward-look-

ing visioncould again expand the Mall’s

boundaries,astheMcMillanPlandidmore

than acenturyago to includethe Lincoln

Memorial, and give newbreathing space

for the Mall to grow along with our ever-

evolvingdemocracy.

Fornow,Moore’s ideareveals anew

opportunityfor enhancingan underuti-

lizedareaoftheexistingMall,andprovides

an ingenious solutionto enhancingthe

Americanstoryonthisbeloved stagefor

ourdemocracy.

Thewriterischair of theNationalMallCoalition.

The National Mall has plenty of space for two new museums

1/4MILE

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THEWASHINGTONPOST