Shannon Taylor (attorney)

Shannon Leigh Taylor (born 1967) is an American attorney who is serving as the incumbent Commonwealth's Attorney for Henrico County, Virginia. A graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond School of Law, . In 2011, she announced her campaign for the 2011 Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney election, winning against Bill Janis and Matthew Geary, and subsequently being reelected in 2015 and 2019.

For the field hockey player, see Shannon Taylor.
Shannon Taylor
Commonwealth's Attorney for Henrico County
Assumed office
January 1, 2012
GovernorBob McDonnell (2012–2014)
Terry McAuliffe (2014–2018)
Ralph Northam (2018–present)
Preceded byWade A. Kizer
Personal details
Born1967 (age 53–54)
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materUniversity of Virginia (BA)
University of Richmond School of Law (JD)

Biography

Early life and career

Taylor was born in 1967, attending the University of Virginia and receiving a bachelor's degree majoring in international relations in 1989. After graduating from the University of Virginia, she moved to Richmond, Virginia and worked at a law firm for a couple of years as a paralegal before attending University of Richmond School of Law and receiving her Juris Doctor in 1995.[1]

Henrico County Commonweath's Attorney

On August 11, 2011, Taylor announced her candidacy for the 2011 Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney election.[2] The office was now an open contest as the incumbent, Wade A. Kizer, had announced that he would be suspending his candidacy for his fifth term.[3] Her opponent was attorney Matthew Geary, who was a schoolmate at law school and had been campaigning since 2009, and later Bill Janis, who announced his campaign days later.[4][5] Taylor won an upset victory over both, receiving 25,975 votes while Janis received 21,540 votes and Geary received 9,045 votes. Some, including Taylor, attributed the win to the split Republican votes between Geary and Janis.[6][7] Taylor planned to make the office more diverse and to create cooperation between the office and police.[8] Taylor also fired seven lawyers from the office, making many angry over the decision.[9][10] In 2015, Taylor announced that she would be running for a second term, remaining unopposed in the Democratic primary. She faced prosecutor Tony Pham, who won the Republican primary against Jeffrey Lee Everhart and Shannon Dillon. Pham took aim at Taylor's leadership but ultimately lost in the general election.[11][12] In the 2019 election, Taylor faced against Owen Inge Conway, one of the lawyers she fired when she initially took office.[13][14] Taylor won against Conway by a landslide with 56% of the vote.[15]

Hanover incident

On June 7, 2020, a man his truck into a crowd of protesters and was caught.[16] The perpetrator was a Klu Klux Klan leader, with Taylor announcing charges for him on June 25.[17][18] He was found guilty and sentenced to six year in prison.[19]

Attorney General election

In June 2020, there was speculation of whether Taylor would run for the 2021 Virginia Attorney General election, with Taylor's friend David Rook emailing supporters to support her in the run, although she did not make an official announcement.[20] Months later, in December 2020, Taylor released a statement that she would not run for attorney general.[21][22] In January 2021, she announced that she would endorse Mark Herring, the incumbent attorney general.[23][24]

Controversies

Joe Morrissey

In 2013, after it was revealed that Joe Morrissey had sex with a minor, Taylor released a statement that distanced her from the investigation and from Morrissey.[25][26] In 2016, when Morrissey exposed himself to a client after he was released, and Taylor started investigating the incident.[27] After the investigation, she said that although Morrissey was "was wrong and unethical", he would not be charged.[28][29][30]

Bribery accusations

In 2019, a criminal complaint filed with the United States Department of Justice provided evidence of alleged bribes being paid to Shannon Taylor during her 2015 campaign. The bribes were allegedly paid by a convicted felony drug dealer and his attorney through campaign contributions from 2014 to 2015, to gain the support of Shannon Taylor and stop a cocaine conviction. The drug dealer had pleaded guilty and was convicted of felony conspiracy to distribute cocaine, having admitted to distributing several kilos of cocaine in the Richmond area for over seven years.[31]

Police integrity

In June 2020, Taylor announced that her office would add a new deputy for police integrity to review police use of force accusations, investigate and review body-worn camera footage, and help determine whether charges are appropriate.[32][33] She created it in response to the killing of George Floyd the previous month, and began looking for a deputy to fill the office.[34][35] She appointed attorney Misty Whitehead, a Black Lives Matter supporter, to fill the position, but had funding pulled by County Manager John Vithoulkas after he said that Taylor did not talk to him about the office.[36][37][38]

Tony Pham

In October 2020, protesters gathered at former rival Tony Pham's house to protest Pham's campaign against immigrants as he had become the Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in August. Many protesters were arrested for trespassing and littering, with many other participants refuting the accusations. Many called Taylor to release the arrested protesters.[39][40]

Political positions

Death penalty

Taylor has called for the end of the death penalty in Virginia, citing that there is "absolutely no data, no research out there that suggests that the death penalty [...] deters people from crime".[41]

Electoral history
2011 Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney election[42]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shannon Taylor 25,975 45.85%
Independent Bill Janis 21,540 38.02%
Republican Matthew Geary 9,045 15.97%
2015 Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney election[43]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shannon Taylor 35,020 56.10%
Republican Tony Pham 27,272 43.69%
2019 Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Election[44]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shannon Taylor 35,020 56.10%
Republican Owen Conway 38,582 37.03%

References
  1. "Shannon Taylor". National Consortium.
  2. McKelway, Bill; Martz, Michael (November 10, 2011). "Henrico elections strengthened shift in political balance". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  3. McKelway, Bill (August 6, 2011). "Kizer won't seek re-election as Henrico prosecutor". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  4. "Geary to challenge Kizer for Henrico prosecutor". Virginia Lawyers Weekly. September 16, 2009.
  5. McKelway, Bill (August 17, 2011). "UPDATE: Janis begins independent bid for Henrico prosecutor". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  6. White, Tom (May 19, 2015). "Meet the People Who Lost Their Jobs When Bill Janis Betrayed the Republican Party and Elected a Democrat". Virginia Right.
  7. "In upset, Taylor wins Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney race". WWBT. November 9, 2011.
  8. Sinclair, Melissa Scott (November 15, 2011). "The Taylor Plan". Style Weekly.
  9. Wise, Scott (January 6, 2012). "New Commonwealth's Attorney takes office, fires seven lawyers". WTVR.
  10. Leahy, Norman (December 3, 2011). "Henrico Democrat CA guts senior ranks in a push for 'diversity'". BearingDrift.
  11. Strong, Ted (November 3, 2015). "Taylor fends off Pham to win second term as Henrico prosecutor". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  12. Strong, Ted (December 26, 2015). "Faces of 2015: Shannon Taylor, won re-election as Henrico commonwealth's attorney". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  13. "Shannon Taylor". Progressive Voters Guide.
  14. Lazarus, Jeremy M. (December 31, 2019). "Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon L. Taylor faces challenge by C. Owen Inge Conway". Richmond Free Press.}
  15. Lazarus, Jeremy M. (November 8, 2019). "Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon L. Taylor handily wins re-election". Richmond Free Press.
  16. "Virginia man arrested for driving through protesters in Henrico". WTVR-TV. June 7, 2020.
  17. Mattingly, Justin (June 8, 2020). "Henrico prosecutor: Hanover man who drove into protest is admitted KKK leader". Associated Press.
  18. Domingo, Enzo (June 7, 2020). "Va. prosecutor: Man who drove through group of protesters is leader of KKK". WIS.
  19. "KKK leader Harry Rogers, accused of driving truck into protesters, found guilty". WRIC-TV. August 10, 2020.
  20. Lappas, Tom (June 13, 2020). "Is Henrico's Commonwealth's Attorney running for state attorney general?". Henrico Citizen.
  21. "Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor Announces She Will NOT Run for AG Next Year". Virginia Blue. December 4, 2020.
  22. Eason, Hannah (December 6, 2020). "Henrico commonwealth's attorney announces she will not run for attorney general". WWBT.
  23. "Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor endorses Mark Herring for attorney general". Augusta Free Press. January 19, 2021.
  24. "Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Taylor endorses Herring". Henrico Citizen. January 18, 2021.
  25. Monfort, Ashley (August 30, 2013). "Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney addresses political ties to Morrissey". WWBT.
  26. Maclauchlan, Shawn (November 19, 2013). "Henrico Commonwealth Attorney releases statement in Morrissey case". WWBT.
  27. "Mayor hopeful vows to keep campaigning amid sex allegations". The Reporter. October 29, 2016.
  28. Oliver, Ned; Green, Frank (November 4, 2016). "Prosecutor: Joe Morrissey won't be charged with crime, but 'what he did was wrong and unethical'". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  29. Freeman Jr., Vernon (November 4, 2016). "Joe Morrissey won't be charged in pressuring client for sex investigation". WTVR-TV.
  30. King Tutt. "Joe Morrissey Will Not Be Charged In Sex Investigation". WKJS.
  31. "Bribes linked to Henrico County Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Taylor's 2015 campaign contributions". Virginia Injustice. March 2, 2019.
  32. "Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney to add new deputy for police integrity". Henrico Citizen. June 29, 2020.
  33. "New position created in Henrico to review accusations of excessive force". WRIC-TV. June 29, 2020.
  34. Perrot, Laura (June 30, 2020). "Henrico's top prosecutor to hire new deputy to review complaints against police". WRIC-TV.
  35. "New position created to monitor Henrico Police activity". WTVR-TV. June 29, 2020.
  36. Burk, Eric (October 2, 2020). "Henrico Withdraws Funding for Police Oversight Attorney". The Virginia Star.
  37. Oliver, Ned (September 30, 2020). "Henrico yanks funding for police oversight job after prosecutor hires Black Lives Matter supporter". Virginia Mercury.
  38. Bacon, James A. (October 1, 2020). "Henrico was Right to Defund Special Prosecutor of Police". Bacon's Rebellion.
  39. "COMMONWEALTH ATTORNEY SHANNON TAYLOR: DROP THE CHARGES AGAINST FREEDOM FIGHTERS FOR STANDING UP TO ICE DIRECTOR TONY PHAM". 18 Million Rising.
  40. "SEARAC Calls on Henrico Commonwealth Attorney to Drop the Charges Against Southeast Asian and Charlotte Organizers". Southeast Asia Resource Action Center. October 20, 2020.
  41. Dashiell, Joe (January 14, 2021). "Prosecutors call for end to death penalty in Virginia". WDBJ.
  42. "Henrico County Commonwealths Attorney". The Virginia Public Access Project.
  43. "Henrico County Commonwealths Attorney". The Virginia Public Access Project.
  44. "Henrico County Commonwealths Attorney". The Virginia Public Access Project.
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