Judge recuses herself from School Board recall cases

Irby was expected to decide whether to allow Fight for Schools, a political action group made up of mostly parents, to join the cases and separately whether to disqualify Commonwealth’s Attorney, Buta Biberaj (D) from prosecuting the cases.

Shortly before her decision was made public, the NAACP Loudoun Branch announced it was seeking to join the recall cases involving School Board members Brenda Sheridan (Sterling District) and Atoosa Reaser (Algonkian District). A next court appearance was scheduled for Feb. 7.

Michelle Thomas, local pastor and president of the NAACP Loudoun Branch, said the group isn’t concerned with the delay in the cases, but rather “the denial of justice” which she believes would have happened with Irby presiding over the two cases.

“The likelihood of having a fair trial with Judge Irby presiding was slim to none,” Thomas said.

“She had already made up her decision to give them [Fight for Schools] standing and allow them in the case,” she said. “The only thing that stopped her dead in her tracks, which she hadn’t accounted for, was the intervening of the oldest civil rights organization into this case, and Judge Irby said ‘I’m out.’ She decided to save her career and work on her reappointment, versus carrying out this injustice that would have been exposed.”

No ruling has been made as of Tuesday afternoon, according to court records.

Last September, Irby said she would not recuse herself in the first recall case — against now-former school board member Beth Barts — at the request of Barts’ attorney, Charlie King. He is now representing the NAACP Loudoun Branch, along with co-counsel Phillip Thompson.

The case was dismissed in December after Beth Barts resigned from her position. She cited threats against her and her family as the reason for her resignation.

King said looking ahead he’s curious if the remaining Loudoun judges will recuse themselves and request the Virginia Supreme Court appoint a special judge to the cases. Irby is the second judge to rescue herself from the cases, joining Circuit Court Judge Stephen Sincavage who stepped aside due to his connections with LCPS.

“When a litigant is an elected official, in my opinion it’s better practice for local judges to recuse themselves,” King said.

Fight for Schools, a political action committee made up of mostly parents, coordinated the recall petitions. The group claims Biberaj, the prosecutor, was a member of a private Facebook group targeting Parents Against Critical Race Theory and shared on social media a newspaper opinion piece that discussed the academic concept.

A second motions hearing is scheduled for Feb. 23, with Sheridan’s starting at 10 a.m. and Reaser’s at 1 p.m.

In a statement Tuesday morning, Fight for Schools renewed its call for Biberaj to be disqualified from the cases, and examine her alleged conflict of interest and attempts to derail the cases.

“So, the question is — why is Commonwealth Attorney Buta Biberaj so determined to prevent the trial of these removal cases that are based, in part, on activities that she was involved in,” Fight for Schools said in their statement.

Petitions to remove an elected official from office require signatures from district residents equal to at least 10% of the votes cast for that official’s post during the last election, according to Virginia Code.

Further, the code states that upon petition, “a circuit court may remove from office any elected officer or officer who has been appointed to fill an elective office, residing within the jurisdiction of the court for negligence of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance of duties when that negligence of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance of duties has a material adverse effect upon the conduct of the office.”

As previously reported, Fight for Schools is also seeking the removal of Ian Serotkin of the Blue Ridge District and At-Large member Denise Corbo. Fight For Schools had not filed a petition seeking their removal as of Tuesday morning.

The late Broad Run District member Leslee King was removed from the group’s recall list after her death at the end of August. King, who was 74, died due to complications from heart surgery.

Lawmakers are considering proposed legislation to reform recall laws as more elected officials are being targeted for removal by political entities across the commonwealth and nationwide.

Judge Irby and attorneys representing the School Board members, and Fight for Schools did not immediately respond to request for comment. Buta Biberaj, the Commonwealth’s Attorney, declined to comment.