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Diane Toscano Joins Judge Adrianne Bennett's Legal Defense

May 23, 2022
virginia public official under investigation hires toscano law group investigation corruption

Diane Toscano has been hired to join the legal defense of Judge Adrianne Bennett who is part of an investigation conducted by the Virginia Office of the Attorney General. Judge Bennett sits on the bench in Virginia Beach Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court and is former chair of the Virginia Parole Board.  


From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:


"Diane Toscano, an attorney for Bennett, said in a statement Thursday that she had previously spoken to the attorney general’s office and told them Bennett would be happy to provide information if they asked. She called the attorney general’s investigation 'targeting of a dedicated public servant' and said the records don’t back up insinuations of wrongdoing against Bennett in the attorney general’s motion.


'It’s unprecedented that a confidential review of a sitting judge has become such a public spectacle,' Toscano said in the statement.


'Judge Bennett’s expectation that matters of the JIRC would be kept confidential is not much different than the expectation an employee would have in a performance review with their supervisor. If the Attorney General’s office is seeking records of the JIRC, then we will assist them to the extent permitted by law and the judicial canons.


Virginia law protects the confidentiality of JIRC investigations. But if JIRC believes a judge has violated the state’s Canons of Judicial Conduct, it will make a public filing at the Supreme Court. No such filing was ever made regarding Bennett, and the court was divided on whether all of the records she filed on her own in an attempt to challenge her suspension should become public."


Full story


Diane's full press statement below


“It’s unprecedented that a confidential review of a sitting judge has become such a public spectacle. 


Judge Bennett’s expectation that matters of the JIRC would be kept confidential is not much different than the expectation an employee would have in a performance review with their supervisor.


If the Attorney General’s office is seeking records of the JIRC, then we will assist them to the extent permitted by law and the judicial canons.


We have no plans to oppose their motion, as the underlying records belie the insinuations contained in their own filing.

 

When I spoke with their investigators, I told them Judge Bennett was happy to provide information – all they needed to do was ask me. 


It’s disappointing that what would normally be a dispute over past policy and procedure when an administration changes hands – especially from one political party to the other – has turned into targeting of a dedicated public servant.”


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