The Robert E. Lee Monument has become a focal point and daily gathering place of the protests in Richmond. (BizSense file photo by Michael Schwartz)
With a new judge on the case, Attorney General Mark Herring is continuing his fight to squash the lawsuit that thus far has prevented the state from taking down the Robert E. Lee Monument on Monument Avenue.
Herring on Monday filed a motion in Richmond Circuit Court, asking Judge W. Reilly Marchant to dissolve the injunction that has been in place since early June in the case filed by William C. Gregory, a descendant of the family that sold the land for the Lee statue to the state in the late 1800s.
The injunction was issued by Judge Bradley Cavedo, who removed himself from the case last week after it was reported that he lived in the vicinity of the statue and in the Monument Avenue Historic District.
The case then was handed to Marchant, who’s expected to hear Herring’s argument at a hearing on Thursday at 2:45.
Herring, in a 27-page brief, said of the Gregory matter: “The assertion at the heart of this case is staggering.”
Click to access legal brief.
“(Gregory) insists that a single person— who claims, at most, an undefined fractional interest in property conveyed to the Commonwealth 130 years ago—may indefinitely veto a popularly elected Governor’s decision to relocate a massive, government-owned statue of Robert E. Lee from one area of Commonwealth ownership and control to another.”
Gregory claims that the deed on the deal between his ancestors and the state prevents Gov. Northam from removing Lee.
“Plaintiff’s claims are antithetical to foundational principles of democratic governance, and those principles should begin and end this case,” Herring said. “And under our democratic system, no one—including a purported heir of long-dead grantors—may force a sovereign Commonwealth to forever continue broadcasting a message with which it profoundly disagrees or to display and maintain on government-owned property a massive statue of a person symbolic of a time it no longer wishes to glorify.”
Marchant also took over for Cavedo in a case filed by anonymous plaintiffs seeking to block the city from taking down the remaining monuments that it owns. That case is still pending.
There’s also one other pending suit that’s attempting to block Mayor Levar Stoney from taking down what’s left of the confederate monuments in the city. That case was filed July 10, by Monument Avenue residents Helen Marie Taylor and Evan Morgan Massey, a longtime coal executive.
Judge David Eugene Cheek Sr. is handling that case.
The Robert E. Lee Monument has become a focal point and daily gathering place of the protests in Richmond. (BizSense file photo by Michael Schwartz)
With a new judge on the case, Attorney General Mark Herring is continuing his fight to squash the lawsuit that thus far has prevented the state from taking down the Robert E. Lee Monument on Monument Avenue.
Herring on Monday filed a motion in Richmond Circuit Court, asking Judge W. Reilly Marchant to dissolve the injunction that has been in place since early June in the case filed by William C. Gregory, a descendant of the family that sold the land for the Lee statue to the state in the late 1800s.
The injunction was issued by Judge Bradley Cavedo, who removed himself from the case last week after it was reported that he lived in the vicinity of the statue and in the Monument Avenue Historic District.
The case then was handed to Marchant, who’s expected to hear Herring’s argument at a hearing on Thursday at 2:45.
Herring, in a 27-page brief, said of the Gregory matter: “The assertion at the heart of this case is staggering.”
Click to access legal brief.
“(Gregory) insists that a single person— who claims, at most, an undefined fractional interest in property conveyed to the Commonwealth 130 years ago—may indefinitely veto a popularly elected Governor’s decision to relocate a massive, government-owned statue of Robert E. Lee from one area of Commonwealth ownership and control to another.”
Gregory claims that the deed on the deal between his ancestors and the state prevents Gov. Northam from removing Lee.
“Plaintiff’s claims are antithetical to foundational principles of democratic governance, and those principles should begin and end this case,” Herring said. “And under our democratic system, no one—including a purported heir of long-dead grantors—may force a sovereign Commonwealth to forever continue broadcasting a message with which it profoundly disagrees or to display and maintain on government-owned property a massive statue of a person symbolic of a time it no longer wishes to glorify.”
Marchant also took over for Cavedo in a case filed by anonymous plaintiffs seeking to block the city from taking down the remaining monuments that it owns. That case is still pending.
There’s also one other pending suit that’s attempting to block Mayor Levar Stoney from taking down what’s left of the confederate monuments in the city. That case was filed July 10, by Monument Avenue residents Helen Marie Taylor and Evan Morgan Massey, a longtime coal executive.
Judge David Eugene Cheek Sr. is handling that case.
I’m hazy on the timing and the geography of a ruling on the word “inperpetuity”, but I believe it took place in Loudoun County in the late ’80’s. It went to a higher court, perhaps at the state level. The ruling, as my fading memory recalls, was that “inperpetuity” is too vague a term to provide ones land rights “forever”. The length of ones rights to land must be defined in tighter terms, as in a number of years. I stand to be corrected by our legal beagles who read these pages.
Bruce, here’s an interesting discussion on the topic by our own Justice Powell:
https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Perpetuity
I find it interesting the AG isn’t really arguing against the legality of the original contract, but taking the stance of “we don’t like it anymore, so we should change it.”
The pleading should be amended from “a popularly elected Governor’s decision” to something like “a popularly elected spineless, lying hypocrite of a Governor, who wore Blackface and later lied about it and endorses baby killing and did not have the grace to resign for the embarrassment caused the Commonwealth (as Lee would have done), who, being politically castrated, decided out of virtue signaling to the mob to remove a statue…” Signed “Your Blackface wearing AG, who chooses not to enforce all of Virginia’s laws (as required by the job), did not have the grace to resign (even though saying the… Read more »
If you’re going to call someone a “spineless, lying hypocrite” you should maybe use your real name, Jane.
When you can convince me I won’t get doxxed, Antifa won’t “visit,” and the police will be allowed to do their jobs, maybe I, and thousands of others, will. Ugly times. But my point stands. The Governor and AG are hardly the paragons of virtue to judge. Didn’t Ralph’s family own slaves? Shouldn’t he resign? Wouldn’t that be honorable?
Surely Jane Roe would be the first to proclaim they don’t live in fear. Le sigh. We’re making racists scared again, and Jane doesn’t like that.
When you have nothing to hide, Jane, you have nothing to fear. And who, exactly, is this “Antifa”? Are you more worried about that or about secret police snatching people from their cars in acts of (to quote our Acting DHS Secretary) “proactive arresting”?
This site reports business news in Metro Richmond. Regardless of one’s values, I hope we all can agree that these statures are bad for business. The longer this story is in the local and national headlines, more businesses will conclude “maybe I should reconsider opening an office/outlet in Central Virginia”. More tourists will cross Richmond off their list of places to visit this year or next. Fewer parents will consider sending their kids to VCU or UR. For the sake or economics it is time for a new chapter to be written that doesn’t include Confederate Monuments.
Karl, I respectfully feel that many of the folks from outside the city limits will spend less time and money in the city. Not based on the removal of statues, but based on the continued appearance of lack of control. Wasn’t the city doing OK prior to the recent unrest? RVA was a hot spot for food and entertainment. I don’t think the statues hurt that progress at all, but I think the lack of leadership and safety will do far more to restrict the progress of the businesses that existed in the city in the years and months prior… Read more »
1-“Unrest” causing business downturns–the protests are not what is hurting business, its the terrible mishandling of the pandemic by the president “jane Roe” loves so much. 2-“Each tribe or band shall have the right to posses, occupy, and use the reserve allotted to it, as long as grass shall grow and water run, and the reserves shall be their own property like their horses and cattle.” Article 5 of the Treaty with the Comanches and Other Tribes and Bands, 12 August 1861[1] See that paragraph above? All the promises made in that got ignored. Why does Gregory think he’s so special? Generations… Read more »
Ed, I’m afraid once the restrictions are lifted and folks are free to return to Richmond, many from the other localities will choose to shop elsewhere. The businesses are slow now due to the pandemic, but they are everywhere. We all work from the same rules issued by the governor. Many people I know in surrounding counties have said they are done with Richmond. It’s too bad for the hard working business owners we all want to support. The manner in which the mayor has handled this entire ordeal is the problem for many. Not just the statues (as I… Read more »
I had high hopes when I voted for Stephanie Lynch for city council. Unfortunately, she turned out to be a virtue signalling narcissist interested only in taking selfies on Monument Avenue and screaming for defunding of our police. It’s a shame Parker Agelasto was forced to step down.
yeah, been very disappointed in Lynch. And I hate Trump and want the statues down – it’s worth it to get the rioters out of the Fan. I don’t really care about the statues, I’m a Yankee, but I care about the fact they are destroying the neighborhood
I just want my city back. I don’t care if the protesters are black lives matter, white supremacists, or militant nudists. If they’re threatening our safety and our livelihood they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Levar Stoney and his 2 friends on council who voted to defund the police need to go.
“I just want my city back.”
Pretty much says it all.
The people demonstrating are not from out of town,( except some of the white supremacists who travel from rural areas).
It’s their city ,too.
Obviously they haven’t made their point yet.
I’m sure it’s inconvenient when you own a house on Monumen.
But those statues, the cobble stone streets, the sidewalks, and the grass in the middle of Monument are all public spaces.
all of which should be used by the public. Not destroyed by rioters. Who are using BLM as a fig leaf, look at their twitter, they are quite honest about it. Can we stop pretending?
Stop by Marcus David Peters Circle on a sunday, look at the families taking pictures.
Monuments to hate and racism have been transformed to monuments to unity by a little paint.
If you don’t understand who BLM757 and Mike Dunn are, you don’t really nderstand what;s going on. Those are carpet baggers from Norfolk who come into town, join peacefull marches, then commit violence. The definition of outside agitators.
@Ed, what’s unifying about the circle now that wasn’t before? There have been pictures and video taken of the monuments for over 100 years. If graffiti, some quite vulgar and certainly not appropriate for many, as well as an unauthorized sign being posted make it unifying,
I think the city is once again causing many locals to avoid the city. That certainly doesn’t appear to be unifying.
The pictures taken in the past were of monuments to slave holders who would rather shoot people than treat blacks as equal.. The new pictures are unifying because the monument to slave holding and racism has been reclaimed by the people who make up 47% of the population of Richmond. People, who, if you listen to representative part of social media and talk to the people down there, never felt welcome. The statues were designed to keep non-whites away from Monument Ave, because it started as a white’s only housing development. Also, 100 years of redlining, segregation and Jim Crow,… Read more »
Having lived in the area for all of my 64 years I can say without hesitation that I never once thought “slave owner” when I looked at those statues. Not once. I look at them as magnificent art. Beautiful enough that they have been shown time and time again in television, movies and print media. Perhaps folks were living in the are when they were erected held those feelings, but just like race relations have evolved over the decades, so has the perception of those monuments. Frankly, I suspect many never knew the connection between most of the recently removed… Read more »
Matt;
Are you trying to tell me, with a straight face, that any people did not know ROBERT E LEE fought for the south in the civil war?
That people didn’t know who Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson were?
If there was any truth at all to this observation, you would not have huge multi racial crowds cheering when they were taken down, and people dressed up as Confederate soldiers trying to protect them.
I’ll give you Matthew Fontaine Maury.
I think most people here would agree that you’re entitled to your opinion, Ed. If that’s how you feel, I say more power to you. You do not have the right, however, to violently force your viewpoint on others. That’s not how democracy works.
A lot of people are leaving Richmond for good.