January 23 — 29, 2020
Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee
Fou n d e d 1991 • V ol. XXIX No. 49
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
A New Approach: ‘Restorative Justice’ Dehghani-Tafti Begins Her Term By Easing Up on Marijuana by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
The Arlington District Court, which covers the City of Falls Church, swore in its new Commonwealth Attorney last month and since Jan. 1, in her first few weeks in her new role, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti is already keeping her campaign promise about choosing not to prosecute most simple marijuana possession arrests and also doing much more. In an exclusive interview with the News-Press Friday, she talked about a much more ambitious agenda she is hoping to advance in her first four-year term, one which turns the recent decades’ approach to criminal prosecution and even the core notion of the function of the American criminal justice system on its head. It is centered on the notion of “restorative justice” instead of merely punitive justice. Namely, in the last few decades, the focus of criminal justice has become almost entirely punitive, rather than rehabilitating, with laws since the 1980s focused on stiff sentences and “three strikes
you’re out” approaches to tough enforcement that has led to a veritable explosion in the number of persons either in prison or caught in the criminal justice system in one way or another. Earlier debates on how to approach criminal justice from the standpoint of the rehabilitation of the offender were effectively quashed. But that has led to an unacceptable cycle of abuse that is to the detriment, disproportionately, of the poor and has led to skyrocketing costs to the public, increasingly poor treatment of those caught in the system, and record levels of incarceration that far outstrip the rest of the advanced nations of the world. This is the heady problem that Dehghani-Tafti, elected to her current position for the first time in November following an upset victory over the incumbent in the Democratic primary last June, is setting out to tackle in her new and influential role. One of her first moves since taking office earlier this month was to bring on Cari Steele as her chief assistant to establish continuity with the operations of the outgoing team. Steele, as it turns out, was the department’s chief person handling the Falls Church court and will continue in that role.
Continued on Page 5
MARCHERS MAKE THEIR WAY UP S. Washington St. during the fourth annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day march Monday, hosted by the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation and the Social Justice Committee of Falls Church & Vicinity. (Photo: Sal Said)
F.C. City March Commemorates MLK Jr., Civil Rights Movement
by Matt Delaney
Falls Church News-Press
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration in the City of Falls Church was headlined by a civil rights movement activist sharing her experiences helping desegregate Northern Virginia with the crowd.
Hosted by the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation and the Falls Church Social Justice Committee & Vicinity, residents from in and out of the City attended the fourth annual event that started with a half-mile march from the Tinner Hill arch on S. Washington Street to and ended at the Falls Church Episcopal church.
Following short speeches from Tinner Hill Foundation and Social Justice Committee members as well as a rendition of the Negro National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” keynote speaker Joan Trumpauer Mulholland took the stage.
Continued on Page 4
Inside This Week Justice High Teacher Arrested for Sexual Student Relationship
News-Press Winter Real Estate Special
Mason High Girls Basketball Shuts Down Warren Co.
See News Briefs, page 9
See pages 13 — 20
See Sports, page 24
Fairfax County Police say the teacher, 57-year-old Philip Spivey of Falls Church, is facing four felony charges of indecent liberties by a custodian for an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student at the area high school.
A new duplex springs up in Falls Church, residents express concern over native oak trees dying in the City, experts compare 15- and 30-year mortgages and more Little City real estate news inside.
The Mustangs came out firing Tuesday night and cruised to a 54-16 win over Warren County High School at home.
Index
Editorial........................................................ 6 Letters.................................................... 6,30 News & Notes.....................................10–11 Comment......................................... 7,12,21 Business News..........................................23 Sports........................................................24 Calendar.............................................26–27 Classified Ads............................................28 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword..................29 Crime Report.............................................30 Critter Corner.............................................30