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Loudoun Co. School Board sues to halt ‘unconstitutional’ special grand jury

Neal Augenstein | naugenstein@wtop.com

May 20, 2022, 9:53 AM

The Loudoun County School Board is seeking a temporary injunction to prohibit any further actions by the special grand jury convened by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, WTOP has learned. ... Miyares convened the special grand jury under one of the first executive orders issued by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

In a civil filing Thursday in Loudoun County Circuit Court, the school board said an executive order issued by Youngkin on his first day in office went beyond his legal power, and that the empaneled special grand jury is being used unlawfully. ... Executive Order 4 authorizes Miyares to conduct “a full investigation into Loudoun County Public Schools.” ... In April, Loudoun County Public Schools said a special grand jury had been convened to look into how the school system handled two sexual assaults last year.

In the new filing, Attorney Steven T. Webster, said Youngkin’s executive order exceeded the governor’s authority. ... According to the complaint, the Virginia Constitution says “local school boards are vested with the exclusive power over ‘the supervision of schools in each school division.'” ... “Through EO 4, the Governor has attempted to arrogate to the Attorney General the power to oversee decisions for public schools regarding any subject matter that the Attorney General deems fit to supervise, and the Attorney General has attempted to exercise that “oversight’ through the powers of the Special Grand Jury.”

In the order, Youngkin asked Miyares to take any appropriate actions “to protect the citizens of the Commonwealth and hold accountable any individuals who have violated existing law or violated the rights of victims of crime.” ... Virginia code permits the Attorney General to prosecute criminal cases in local courts for a limited number of offenses or “unless specifically requested by the Governor to do so.”

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Neal Augenstein
Neal Augenstein has been a reporter at WTOP since 1997. Through the years, Neal has covered many of the crimes and trials that have gripped the region. Neal's been pleased to receive awards over the years for hard news, feature reporting, use of sound and sports.

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