Governments and Public Officials

Morris & Morris has an experienced team ready to defend governments and public officials.  Experience defending these types of lawsuits is important because there are many different types of claims that can be made against these unique defendants that involve complex areas of state, federal, and constitutional law.  Our team has been representing governments and public officials for many years and has a proven track record of success.  Whether it is a routine claim by a prisoner or a highly publicized allegation against a public official, we have a team ready to respond.

Obtaining a successful outcome in a claim against a government or public official is many times a matter of knowing more about the law or having more experience than our opponent.  We already have a solid understanding of the law and extensive experience defending these types of suits.  We have represented many types of governments and public officials including towns, cities, counties, school boards, sheriffs, wardens, superintendants, jails, prisons, police officers, guards, departments, agency directors, judges, and even the Attorney General of Virginia.  We also have represented a foreign government in a civil rights case.  The types of claims are equally varied, and we have handled, among other claims in this area, annexation matters, civil rights claims, Constitutional law claims, discrimination claims, employment claims, habeas corpus claims, petitions for writs of mandamus, and § 1983 claims.

Representative Engagements:

Some of our representative engagements include the following:

• We were retained to represent a town against other local governments in a contested and publicized annexation case.

• We were retained as personal counsel by the Attorney General of Virginia and successfully defended the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General in federal employment litigation.

• We were retained to defend the Director and former Director of the Virginia Department of Corrections in a First Amendment suit by a prison warden.

• We were named Special Counsel by the Governor of Virginia to represent the judges of an urban juvenile and domestic relations district court in litigation with their sheriff over courtroom security issues.

• We represented a county against lawsuits filed by developers in state and federal court alleging, among other things, that the county violated their rights under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses.

• We were retained to represent a school board against an employment law claim brought against the board and its members.

• On behalf of several local jails, we were retained to defend prisoners’ petitions for writs of mandamus filed in the Supreme Court of Virginia.

• On behalf of several local jails, we were retained to defend prisoners’ claims filed in federal court alleging violations of their civil rights.

• On behalf of a foreign government, we were retained to defend allegations of civil rights and due process violations.