LEESBURG, Va. — A Loudoun County judge refused Thursday to throw out the case against fired former county schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler.
Circuit Court Judge James Fisher rejected the argument of a lawyer for Ziegler that the attorney general's office had no legal authority under state law to prosecute the case.
Scott Ziegler is accused of lying to an unnamed publication about sexual assaults in school bathrooms and retaliating against a teacher.
The judge said Ziegler's lawyer, Erin Harrigan, did a great job arguing the idea, but he rejected it anyway.
Harrigan said state law gives the power to prosecute local officials to local commonwealth's attorneys, not the attorney general. Theo Stamos, a special counsel for the attorney general, said he represents all the people in the commonwealth, including Loudoun County.
"The wheels of justice turn very slowly and they're very complicated. This is going to go on forever," said Scott Smith, father of one of the girls assaulted in a bathroom at a Loudoun County school. Smith was happy the judge is letting the case against the fired schools superintendent continue.
He's convinced Scott Ziegler is guilty of three misdemeanor counts: retaliating against and firing a teacher, and lying to the media. "He's been purposely lying since the day my daughter got assaulted and put that out in the letter that went out to parents. The lies started that night," Smith told reporters outside the courthouse.
Ziegler is accused of lying at a rowdy school board meeting in 2021, when he said he was unaware of any sexual assaults in Loudoun school bathrooms. Ziegler says he misunderstood the question.
The assaults by the same boy at two different Loudoun schools were among the issues that catapulted Glen Youngkin to the governor's office and Jason Miyares into the Attorney General's chair.
Gov. Youngkin's Executive Order #4 called for an investigation of Loudoun public schools. Among Miyares' first acts was to empanel a special grand jury and bring charges against the former schools superintendent. Also charged is Wayde Byard, the now suspended schools communications director, who is accused of lying to the grand jury, which is a felony,
But Ziegler's lawyer argued Thursday that Miyares had no power under Virginia state law to empanel a special grand jury and charge local officials. She said that that authority was reserved for the local commonwealth's attorney.
Stamos, the special counsel for Miyares, told the judge the the attorney represents all the people of the state – including people in Loudoun.
Ziegler's lawyer did win one point. The Attorney General's Office will have to tell Ziegler exactly what he said that they believe was a lie.
Ziegler is accused of misdemeanor "false publication." But the judge refused to order prosecutors to tell the defense who the reporter was that they believed Ziegler lied to, or where they believe the lie was published.