PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The first day back for in-person court cases started with a big development in the ongoing fight between the City of Portsmouth and the sheriff.
At first, Portsmouth Judge Johnny Morrison more or less sided with the city, saying that Sheriff Michael Moore needed to honor the contract between the Hampton Roads Regional Jail and the city and should send inmates to HRRJ instead of keeping them entirely at the Portsmouth City Jail.
However, less than an hour after the ruling was given, Morrison signaled that ruling could change.
That’s because Portsmouth Sheriff Michael Moore’s attorneys — Jon Babineau and now, state Sen. Thomas K. Norment — have plans to lay out more evidence in the case, including plans to put City Manager Dr. Lydia Pettis Patton and Mayor John Rowe on the stand.
Attorneys for the city objected.
“There is no indication that the contract is impossible to fulfill,” James Cales, hired to help the city, said in court.
Morrison himself said “there was a lot of evidence already given.”
Ultimately, Morrison stayed his decision until he hears additional evidence June 16.
The legal battle between the city and the sheriff has been going on for the better part of a year when the city condemned the jail, which is operated by the sheriff, in July 2019 with little notice. The city building and code official condemned the jail and the rest of the civic center after they said they found problems with the fire suppression system and unsanitary conditions.
Later, in December, the city filed a petition asking a court to order the sheriff to move the jail’s inmates to the Hampton Roads Regional Jail. The city already pays close to $6 million a year to have 250 inmate beds available at that facility.
In March, a judge ordered the jail to stay open, overriding the council’s attempts to move the inmates.
Following the court appearance, Norment said the original ruling would be dangerous.
“We were just alarmed that the judge was initially prepared to dismiss the suit and rule in favor of the City Council. The practical effects of that is — that it would close the Portsmouth City Jail — the sheriff would be required to move all of his prisoners from the Portsmouth City Jail to the Hampton Roads Regional Jail,” he said.
Due to COVID-19, moving inmates to the HRRJ wouldn’t be feasible right now because the facility isn’t accepting any other inmates over concerns over spread of the virus.
The city attorney declined to comment on the case Monday.
