When Norfolk officials held a September press conference following a night in which three people were killed and 11 others injured, Mayor Kenneth Alexander, City Manager Larry “Chip” Filer, Interim Police Chief Michael Goldsmith and Sheriff Joe Baron spoke. Conspicuously missing was Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi, who had not been invited.
Alexander did not mention Fatehi by name. But a portion of his remarks pointedly referred to the prosecutor’s office.
“Those committing crimes must be held accountable in our courts. A strong and effective prosecutorial team is critical to the safety of our city and for the voice of victims,” Alexander said. “Norfolk residents deserve a prosecutorial philosophy and practice that keeps offenders off the streets.”
Alexander’s comment referring to “prosecutorial philosophy” has its foundation in Fatehi’s self-identification as a “progressive prosecutor.” Fatehi, who won 60% of the vote in the Democratic primary, campaigned as an advocate of criminal justice reform, saying jail or prison should be a last resort when there are no alternatives or public safety is at risk.
But as Norfolk experienced a jump in violent crime — the city saw 63 murders in 2022, the highest number in nearly 30 years — there has been a quiet campaign against his policies that also questions the competency of his office.
Fatehi’s office has fed into those criticisms with a string of courtroom failures in high-profile murder cases and a spate of departures. Since he won the Democratic primary in June 2021, virtually assuring his election, at least 22 lawyers in the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office have left, about two-thirds of them for prosecutors’ offices in Chesapeake, Suffolk and Virginia Beach.
This story was reported and written by The Virginia Mercury. Read more here.
