Tipsheet

Oh, So That's Who Might Be Paying the Legal Fees for a Woke VA Prosecutor

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  August 19, 2022 12:30 PM

This story seems like it happened nine years ago in Virginia, but it occurred in June. Earlier this summer, Loudoun County Commonwealth Attorney Buta Biberaj was removed from a burglary case by a judge who claimed her office exhibited “overt misrepresentation” of the facts to secure a plea agreement. It’s a move that most in the legal world seldom see, if ever, during their careers. Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge James Plowman removed Baburaj’s office from a criminal case involving Kevin Enrique Valle. 

Valle was facing burglary, destruction of property, and falsifying identification charges. Judge Plowman said that the commonwealth attorney’s office omitted critical details about Valle, specifically his criminal history. The burglaries cited in the plea deal said they occurred within hours of each other. That’s false. Valle went on a larceny spree committing as many as 12 burglaries in four counties over ten days. Consequently, Plowman disqualified the commonwealth attorney’s office from the case.

On top of that, the state’s bar association said they would investigate this incident over whether Biberaj violated ethics codes and other misconduct allegations. She later said that she would appeal the judge’s decision to remove her from the Valle case. Biberaj had been criticized for how she’s handled past cases, like ones involving domestic abusers who rarely got jail time. 

Now, the lawyers she’s hired for the appeal are exorbitantly expensive at $1,000/hour. How can she afford this on a local public servant’s salary? She might be billing us, the taxpayers, for her legal fees. It’s a good question.