Virginia’s top court reinstates prosecutor removed by judge

By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s Supreme Court has reinstated a progressive prosecutor on a criminal burglary case after a judge removed her when he was dissatisfied with a plea deal her office reached. Thursday’s ruling faults Circuit Court Judge James Plowman for removing Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney Buta Biberaj without giving her adequate opportunity to defend her actions. The case is indicative of tensions that have arisen in northern Virginia courthouses as Biberaj and other reform-minded prosecutors have won office in the region. Plowman was unhappy with the plea deal in the burglary case that called for a six-month sentence. He felt prosecutors had failed to disclose the defendant’s full criminal history.