NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — After four long days in the Norfolk Federal Courthouse, a jury found that former Virginia Beach Sheriff Ken Stolle violated the constitutionally protected rights of Dave Fowler, husband of Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler.
Stolle chose not to reappoint Fowler as a sheriff’s deputy in November 2021 – an extremely rare move in his office — after Fowler appeared in a commercial for his wife’s campaign.
Fowler sued Stolle in his capacity as sheriff, alleging he was effectively fired because his and his wife’s politics clashed with Stolle’s. Convirs-Fowler serves as a Democrat. Stolle was elected to the position of sheriff as a Republican. He’s also served as chairman of the state GOP.
The jury ultimately found that Stolle violated Fowler’s right to free association, but did not infringe on his protected speech. Both issues counted as a potential violation of the state constitution as well as the U.S. Constitution.
Fowler’s attorney’s had asked the jury to award $1.1 million in damages. They delivered a much smaller sum of $10,000.
“It is lower than what we would expect, and I think there’s going to be some post-trial motions to that regard,” Fowler’s lead attorney, William Thetford, told 10 On Your Side outside the courthouse. “But I will say that we’re really glad that the jury decided and agreed that law enforcement employment should be about right and wrong, not about right and left.”
The jury had to decide and agree on at least two dozen questions in the case, ranging from whether Stolle was acting under color of law to whether Fowler had the power of arrest while serving as a sergeant in the office.
“I think the jury was a little bit confused on some of the issues, but I think they did a good job,” Stolle said after the verdict.
Despite the verdict, the case is still far from resolved. The judge still has to rule on whether Stolle’s actions — even thought they may have violated the constitution – are protected by qualified immunity.
The verdict came after three days of argument and presentation of evidence. Fowler’s attorneys attempted to paint the former sheriff as a vindictive politician who oversaw a good ol’ boys club for Republicans in the sheriff’s office.
“Sheriff Stolle is a politician; he knows how to frame things,” Thetford told the jury.
“Stolle had two sets of rules — one set for Republicans and one set for Democrats,” he added later.
Stolle’s attorneys, for their part, made the case that Fowler had been a subpar employee and disobeyed a direct order by appearing in a political advertisement in uniform.
The suit by Fowler, the husband of State Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler, alleged that Stolle effectively fired him in November 2021 because he had supported his wife’s political runs and policies.
Fowler had sued for back pay plus interest — $1.1 million — and wanted his previous position back with the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office. However, they awarded Fowler just $10,000 in compensatory damages, a far cry from what he had asked for.
The judge asked the jury, after they had spent several hours deliberating, a series of yes or no questions as a means of coming up with their decision, and the answers mostly favored Fowler.
