Articles by Matthew Barakat

Supreme Court Nixes Virginia School Board Appeal of Sex-Assault Case

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal from a Virginia school board that says it shouldn’t be held liable for the alleged sexual assault of a student by a classmate on a band trip. …

Nurse Practitioner Claims CVS Fired Her Over Her Abortion Stance

A nurse practitioner from northern Virginia sued CVS Health on Wednesday, saying she was fired for refusing to provide abortion-inducing drugs at its MinuteClinic medical facilities. In the lawsuit, Paige Casey said CVS had for years granted her a religious …

Jury Awards Virginia Landlord $50K Over Being Tasered in False Arrest

A jury has awarded $50,000 to a northern Virginia landlord who was shot three times with a stun gun when sheriff’s deputies wrongly arrested him following a tenant’s complaint. Matthew Souter, 57, of The Plains, Virginia, was arrested at his …

Judge Rejects Virginia County School Board Bid to Halt Grand Jury Probe

A judge on Monday rejected an effort by the Loudoun County School Board to shut down a special grand jury investigating the school system’s handling of two sexual assaults. The school board says the special grand jury empaneled by Republican …

Lawsuits Over Sex-Assaults Advance Against Virginia School System

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — A pair of lawsuits that for years has plagued Virginia’s largest school system with allegations that it ignored students’ accusations of sex assaults are back in front of federal judges. One of the lawsuits includes allegations …

Jury’s Duty in Depp-Heard Trial Doesn’t Track Public Debate

A seven-person civil jury in Virginia will resume deliberations Tuesday in Johnny Depp’s libel trial against Amber Heard. What the jury considers will be very different from the public debate that has engulfed the high-profile proceedings. For six weeks, testimony …

Judge Advances Suit Alleging Virginia Police Officers Protected Sex Traffickers

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a lawsuit against two former police officers accused of protecting a sex trafficking ring in northern Virginia in exchange for sex can move forward. The former Fairfax County officers, Michael O. Barbazette of Manassas …

Judge Declines to Delay Ruling Against Virginia School System’s Admissions Policy

A federal judge has again ruled against a northern Virginia school system that he found guilty of discriminating against Asian American students when it overhauled its admissions policies at a highly selective high school. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Claude …

Virginia School Board to Appeal Judge’s Ruling Blocking Elite School’s Admissions Policy

A federal judge ruled Friday that a Virginia school system illegally discriminated against Asian Americans when it overhauled the admissions policies at an elite public school. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton found that impermissible “racial balancing” was …

Alleged Sex Assault on Virginia School Band Trip Prompts Legal Split

The full panel of 15 appellate judges in Richmond has narrowly upheld a former northern Virginia high school student’s appeal to have her lawsuit against the school system reinstated after an alleged sexual assault on a band trip. The narrow …