The Virginia Supreme Court has agreed to review the lawsuit over Arlington’s Missing Middle zoning change, moving one step closer to resolving the complicated but consequential case.
Following oral arguments last month, the court announced today (Tuesday) that it will review a Virginia Court of Appeals ruling that would create big obstacles for plaintiffs, if upheld.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Virginia’s bid to restore a congressional map that would have given Democrats a chance to pick up four seats in the closely divided House of Representatives.
The court’s order, issued without any noted dissent, is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competition. It was kicked off last year by President Donald Trump urging Republican-controlled states to redraw their lines and was supercharged by a recent Supreme Court ruling severely weakening the Voting Rights Act that opened up even more winnable seats for the GOP.
The true story of a local enslaved woman’s legal fight to earn her freedom was brought to life in a series of performances this spring.
The name “Julia Roberts” is connected in most people’s minds with the successful Hollywood actress. But an earlier Julia Roberts played a seminal, but until now largely overlooked, role in local, state and national history.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on Monday filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to halt a Virginia ruling invalidating a ballot measure that would have given their party an additional four winnable U.S. House seats.
The move came after the Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a constitutional amendment that voters narrowly passed just last month. The 4-3 state court decision found that the Democratic-controlled legislature improperly began the process of placing the amendment on the ballot after early voting had begun in the Virginia’s general election last fall.
Arlington will remain in a single congressional district after the Virginia Supreme Court on May 8 invalidated redistricting approved by Virginia voters just weeks before.
Unless the U.S. Supreme Court decides to intervene or Democrats can conceive another end-around to overturn the decision, district boundaries revert to where they had been. For Arlington voters, this means all of the county remains in the 8th District, where Rep. Don Beyer will attempt to fend off several primary challengers in August.
The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a voter-approved Democratic congressional redistricting plan, delivering another major setback to the party in a nationwide battle against Republicans for an edge in this year’s midterm elections.
The court ruled 4-3 that the state’s Democratic-led legislature violated procedural requirements when it placed the constitutional amendment on the ballot to authorize mid-decade redistricting. Voters narrowly approved the amendment on April 21, but the court’s ruling renders the vote’s result meaningless.
Virginia Supreme Court justices on Monday questioned whether the state’s Democratic-led legislature complied with constitutional requirements when it sent a congressional redistricting plan to voters, in a case that carries high stakes for the balance of power in the U.S. House.
The new districts, which could net Democrats four additional seats, won narrow voter approval last week. But a Republican legal challenge contends the General Assembly violated procedural rules by placing the constitutional amendment before voters to authorize the mid-decade redistricting. If the court agrees that lawmakers broke the rules, it could invalidate the amendment and render last week’s statewide vote meaningless.
Oral arguments in the lawsuit over Arlington County’s “Missing Middle” zoning changes are taking place in the Virginia Supreme Court this morning (Wednesday).
Justices are scheduled to hear a roughly 10-minute argument on plaintiffs’ attempt to reverse a Court of Appeals decision, which effectively put Missing Middle back on the books in Arlington last summer for procedural reasons. This moves the court one step closer to deciding whether to accept the case for full review.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — For the second time, Virginia’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that voters can cast ballots on a Democrat-led congressional redistricting plan that could help the party win four more U.S. House seats, as the justices review legal challenges to the effort.
The court ruled that a statewide referendum can be held on April 21 on whether to authorize mid-decade redistricting, upending a temporary restraining order put in place by a Tazewell County judge last month. It comes after the top court made a similar ruling last month in a related case.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) is celebrating a U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down tariffs imposed by President Trump.
Beyer, who chairs the New Democrat Coalition Trade & Tariffs Task Force, has been sharply critical of the tariffs and has called for the high court to find them illegal.
Virginia voters will get to cast ballots on a congressional redistricting plan benefiting Democrats while a court battle plays out over the legality of the effort.
The Virginia Supreme Court said Friday that a statewide referendum can be held April 21 on whether to authorize mid-decade redistricting, and the court will decide sometime later whether the plan is legal.
Missing Middle’s critics are launching another round of opposition as Arlington County returns to accepting permit applications for this kind of construction.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit over Arlington’s Expanded Housing Option filed an emergency motion yesterday (Monday) in the Supreme Court of Virginia. They’re seeking to block a Virginia Court of Appeals order that allows the county to resume issuing permits for multifamily construction in previously single-family-only neighborhoods.
