Joe Morrissey
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Joseph Dee Morrissey (born September 23, 1957) is an American Democratic politician, businessman, and former lawyer who won election to both chambers of the
Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...
from districts including Richmond or surrounding Henrico County, Virginia. He currently represents
Virginia's 16th Senate district Virginia's 16th Senate district is one of 40 districts in the Senate of Virginia. It has been represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Joe Morrissey since 2020, following his defeat of incumbent Rosalyn Dance in the 2019 Democrati ...
, having been elected during the
2019 Virginia elections The 2019 Virginia elections took place on November 5, 2019. All 40 seats of the Senate of Virginia and 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates were up for re-election, as were many local offices. As of June 30, 2018, incumbents in both parti ...
. He represents much of southern Richmond, as well as all of the cities of Petersburg and Hopewell and portions of Chesterfield, Dinwiddie and Prince George counties. He served as
Commonwealth's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a lo ...
of Richmond 1989–93 and was first elected to the
Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...
in November 2007. Re-elected several times, on December 18, 2014, he resigned after admitting to having sex with a minor, but won back his own seat as an Independent upon release from prison, then resigned again on March 25, 2015. He represented the 74th House district, made up of Charles City County and parts of Henrico and Prince George counties, all of the city of Hopewell and part of the city of Richmond.Virginia House of Delegates bio, 2009


Early life and education

The son of cardiologist William F. Morrissey and his wife Jean, Morrissey claims descent from John "Old Smoke" Morrissey, a 19th-century U.S. Congressman and one-time
bare-knuckle boxer Bare-knuckle boxing (or simply bare-knuckle) is a combat sport which involves two individuals throwing punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time without any boxing gloves or other form of padding on their hands. It is a regulated ...
. He and his five siblings grew up in Annandale, where he attended parochial schools. Morrissey received a
B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in
economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...
at the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
in 1979, and a J.D. from the
Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...
in 1982. He earned a
master of laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
degree with honors at Trinity College, Dublin in 2003.


Early teaching and legal careers

Morrissey taught
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
as a
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teacher, and after admission to the Virginia bar, served as
Commonwealth's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a lo ...
of Richmond, Virginia 1989-93. He had a private legal practice from 1993-2000. He was a lecturer of Law at Portobello College in
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from 2001–02, and taught in the law school at the
Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological U ...
for two years (2001–03) and in Australia at the
University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
and the
University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...
in 2003 until he was fired for failing to disclose the fact he had been disbarred. The New South Wales Bar Association on April 26, 2006, found Morrissey was "not a fit and proper person to be admitted as a legal practitioner". Morrissey taught at
Bishop O'Connell High School Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School (also known as DJO) is a Roman Catholic college preparatory school founded in 1957 in Arlington County, Virginia. It was established by the Diocese of Richmond, but it has been under the direction of the Di ...
in Arlington during 2006, but he was fired after a semester.


Political career


Virginia House of Delegates (2008–2014)

Morrissey first won election to the
Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...
representing a Richmond area district in November 2007. He won re-election to that part time position several times, but resigned that position due to legal troubles discussed below. Though he won the seat back in a special election, he resigned permanently when lawmakers realized he was running for a Virginia Senate seat outside his district (and was forced to drop that campaign as well). Morrissey attracted national attention in January 2013, when during a debate on gun control he pulled an unloaded
AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...
from under his desk and flourished it on the floor of the House of Delegates, after a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
-controlled
subcommittee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
had killed a
bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...
of his that would have tightened gun controls in the commonwealth on weapons such as AK-47s. He announced, "A lot of people don't know that in many locations in the commonwealth, you can take this gun, you can walk in the middle of Main Street loaded and not be in violation of the law." On March 24, 2015, Morrissey was disqualified from the House of Delegates after filing to run for a state Senate seat outside of his district. He dropped out of that senate race in September 2015, allowing incumbent
Rosalyn Dance Rosalyn Randolph Dance (born February 10, 1948) is an American politician, who served in the Senate of Virginia from 2014 until 2020. She was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2005 to 2014, and was mayor of Petersburg, Virginia fro ...
(D) to win reelection without active opposition.


Unsuccessful mayoral candidacy

In
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
, Morrissey ran for mayor of Richmond as an Independent. Morrissey finished in third place behind Democratic opponents
Levar Stoney Levar Marcus Stoney (born March 20, 1981) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the 80th mayor of Richmond, Virginia. He served as the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2014 through 2016, the youngest membe ...
and Jack Berry, securing 21% of the vote.


Virginia State Senate (2020–present)

In 2019, he again ran for Dance's seat in the Virginia Senate, and this time defeated her in the primary, earning 56% of the vote. He defeated independent candidate Waylin Ross in the general election held in November 2019. In 2019, Morrissey was elected to a seat on the Senate of Virginia, representing the 16th district.


Unsuccessful congressional candidacy

In December 2022, Morrissey ran to be the Democratic candidate in a
special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
for
Virginia's 4th congressional district Virginia's fourth congressional district is a United States congressional district in the state of Virginia, taking in most of the area between Richmond and Chesapeake. In Hampton Roads, it covers all or part of the counties of Charles City, ...
, triggered by the death of
Donald McEachin Aston Donald McEachin ( ; October 10, 1961 – November 28, 2022) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 4th congressional district from 2017 until his death in 2022. His district was based in ...
. He lost to state senator
Jennifer McClellan Jennifer Leigh McClellan (born December 28, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Virginia state senator from the 9th district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she was previously elected to the Virginia House of ...
in a
firehouse primary {{Short description, Election run by a political party to select a candidate or nominee for a later general election A firehouse primary, also called a firehouse caucus or "unassembled caucus", is a term sometimes used in the United States to descri ...
.


Controversy


Reprimand, suspensions and first law license revocation

As an attorney, Morrissey was cited for contempt of court ten times and was jailed or arrested five times. He was indicted and acquitted of five bribery, perjury, and misuse of public funds charges as commonwealth's attorney, and was suspended and reinstated to the post a number of times. Records from the
Virginia State Bar The Virginia State Bar (VSB) is the administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia created to regulate, improve and advance the legal profession in Virginia. Membership in good standing in the VSB is mandatory for attorneys wishing to pr ...
indicate that Morrissey received a public reprimand in March 1992, and had his law license suspended twice: once in December 1993 and then again in December 1999. On December 21, 2001, Morrissey was disbarred in the
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (in case citations, E.D. Va.) is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has jurisdiction over the Northern Virginia, Hampton ...
, and on April 25, 2003, his license to practice law was revoked by the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board. He appealed the federal disbarment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. However, the disbarment was affirmed in a September 2002 opinion which concluded "Frequent episodes of unethical, contumacious, or otherwise inappropriate conduct mar Joseph D. Morrissey's career as prosecutor and private defense attorney." The appellate court said, "Evidence … demonstrates Morrissey's 15-year history of contempt citations, reprimands, fines, suspensions, and even incarcerations arising from unprofessional conduct mostly involving an uncontrollable temper, inappropriate responses to stress, and dishonesty." On December 16, 2011, the Supreme Court of Virginia approved his petition for reinstatement to the bar. However, that decision did not bind the federal courts, and as discussed below, he was disbarred again.


Conviction for delinquency of a minor

In August 2013, police found Morrissey in his Henrico County home with a 17-year-old girl, now his wife, who was at the time an employee of his law office. Morrissey, the girl, and her mother denied any impropriety. A
Henrico County Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is incl ...
court convened a grand jury to investigate a possible improper sexual relationship between Morrissey and the girl. On June 30, 2014, Morrissey was
indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of ...
on felony charges of indecent liberties with a minor, possession and distribution of child pornography, and electronic solicitation of a minor, in addition to a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, for which conviction he served three months of a 12-month sentence. After being convicted, Morrissey resigned as a delegate at the Virginia House. According to statements from the prosecutor in court documents, Morrissey had sex with the girl multiple times in his law office in August 2013, and possessed a nude photograph of the girl, which he also sent to a friend. Morrissey allegedly continued the relationship with the girl after she left his law office in August 2013, and the two allegedly shared a hotel room overnight in October 2013. Morrissey denied the charges, saying the girl came to him for advice about family problems and was being abused by her father, and that the special prosecutor was out to get him because of a personal
vendetta Vendetta may refer to: * Feud or vendetta, a long-running argument or fight Film * ''Vendetta'' (1919 film), a film featuring Harry Liedtke * ''Vendetta'' (1950 film), an American drama produced by Howard Hughes * ''Vendetta'' (1986 film), a ...
. Morrissey said he rejected a plea bargain for a single misdemeanor in December 2013. He vowed to fight the charges in court, declaring that he would be vindicated, and rejected calls to resign his House seat. Morrissey again made national headlines in July 2014 when he used an obscenity on live television while reading a text message he claimed was planted on his phone by hackers. He entered into a plea agreement in which he made an
Alford plea In United States law, an Alford plea, also called a Kennedy plea in West Virginia, an Alford guilty plea, and the Alford doctrine, is a guilty plea in criminal court, whereby a defendant in a criminal case does not admit to the criminal act and ...
to one misdemeanor charge and received an active jail sentence. News reports indicated that Morrissey would be eligible to attend sessions of the legislature on work release. Leading members of the Virginia Democratic Party, including Governor
Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 ...
, called for Morrissey to resign his seat. Morrissey resigned his seat on December 18, 2014, but ran in the special election to fill the resulting vacancy. On January 13, 2015, while serving a six-month jail sentence and running as an Independent, he won that election to reclaim his seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. William Neely, the special prosecutor appointed to investigate the Morrissey case, secured new felony indictments January 21, 2015, against Morrissey for perjury and for presenting forged documents during his sentencing hearing. On January 15, 2022, in his last day in office, Governor
Ralph Northam Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...
pardoned Morrissey for the misdemeanor conviction for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, the person who became his wife and mother of three of his children.


Second law license revocation

In March 2018, the
Virginia State Bar The Virginia State Bar (VSB) is the administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia created to regulate, improve and advance the legal profession in Virginia. Membership in good standing in the VSB is mandatory for attorneys wishing to pr ...
brought new charges of misconduct against Morrissey. A three-judge panel convened on March 26, 2018, to hear three separate allegations of misconduct. First, the Bar contended that Morrissey's criminal conviction and improper contact with his 17-year-old intern violated rules regarding criminal conduct by an attorney, and that Morrissey had destroyed evidence relating to the criminal case against him. On March 28, the panel found that though the Bar had not shown that Morrissey destroyed evidence, they did find that the Bar had successfully demonstrated that Morrissey's relationship with his intern was "a criminal or deliberately wrongful act that reflects adversely on the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness to practice law." On March 29, the panel considered charges stemming from Morrissey's representation of former Virginia governor Douglas Wilder and the United States National Slavery Museum in a tax matter. Despite being subpoenaed, Wilder failed to appear, and so the disciplinary panel found insufficient evidence as to these charges. Wilder would later contest this decision, arguing that service of the subpoena had been improper. Finally, on March 30, the panel found that Morrissey had also violated legal ethics rules when he allowed another member of his firm (not yet sworn in as a lawyer) to appear in court on behalf of one of the firm's clients. That employee had passed the Bar Examination a short time before, but until formal swearing-in by the
Virginia Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrativ ...
was ineligible to represent clients as an attorney. Morrissey was thus found to have violated rules that require a lawyer to ensure that anyone under his or her supervision also follow ethics rules. The panel also noted that Morrissey had not informed his client that someone else would be present, itself a violation of the Bar's rules. Based on the violations that it found Morrissey had committed and considering his prior disciplinary and legal difficulties, the panel ordered that Morrissey's law license be revoked effective June 15, 2018. Morrissey applied to the Virginia Supreme Court on June 13, 2018, for a stay of his revocation as he perfected an appeal to the Richmond Circuit Court's ruling. In a three-paragraph order, the Virginia Supreme Court denied the stay on June 14, 2018. Morrissey's law license was revoked for the second time on June 15, 2018. Morrissey's appeal of the revocation was denied by the Virginia Supreme Court on July 18, 2019. On January 9, 2020, the Virginia Supreme Court adopted a rules change eliminating the legal ambiguity cited in Morrissey's last disbarment appeal. Also on that day, the federal U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed Morrissey's libel lawsuit against
WTVR-TV WTVR-TV (channel 6) is a television station in Richmond, Virginia, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. Its studios are located on West Broad Street on Richmond's West End, and its transmitter is located ...
, a local television station.


2019 general election

In November 2020, Morrissey was charged with three misdemeanor counts of violating state election laws; the charges related to the
2019 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2019. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems has a calendar of upcoming elections around the world, and the National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections in coun ...
, in which Morrissey was alleged to have entered a polling place in Virginia, given food to poll workers and voters, thanking them for supporting him, and inviting them to an election party thrown by his campaign. Morrissey's office said the charges were politically motivated, following Morrissey endorsing Virginia Delegate Jay Jones for
Virginia Attorney General The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election. There are no ter ...
, a challenger to incumbent
Mark Herring Mark Rankin Herring (born September 25, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 47th Attorney General of Virginia from 2014 to 2022. A Democrat, he previously served in the Senate of Virginia since a 2006 special election, ...
. On January 8, 2021, a judge dismissed all charges against Morrissey. The dismissal occurred after Morrissey's attorneys brought forth affidavits from six poll workers defending Morrissey's actions on Election Day and stating that he greeted them politely, and behaved in a "totally appropriate manner when he offered them
donut A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fra ...
s for their hard work."


Personal life

Morrissey married Myrna Pride on June 11, 2016, when she was 21 years old, in
Varina, Virginia Varina ( ) is a former unincorporated community and current magisterial district in the easternmost portion of Henrico County, Virginia, United States. History John Rolfe and Varina Plantation Varina was named for Varina plantation establishe ...
. Pride is his first wife. Morrissey initially denied paternity of his son with Pride, who was born in March 2015 when Pride was 19. On May 20, 2015, he confirmed paternity of the boy. Although Morrissey admitted having sexual relationships with Pride in a plea agreement following a conviction for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, both continue to maintain that no sexual activity occurred before she was of legal age. As of 2023, they have three children. Morrissey also has three other children with other women. It was reported in January 2023 that Morrissey and his wife are separated, and she is seeking a divorce. Raised as a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, Morrissey now attends New Kingdom Christian Ministry in Henrico County, a Baptist church.


References


External links

* * * *
Project Vote Smart - Representative Joseph D. Morrissey (VA)
profile
The Washington Post - Joseph D. Morrissey: local election 2008 profile"Joe Morrissey trials"
richmondmagazine.com; accessed June 28, 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrissey, Joseph D. 1957 births 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Candidates in the 2016 United States elections Candidates in the 2023 United States elections County and city Commonwealth's Attorneys in Virginia Disbarred lawyers Georgetown University Law Center alumni Living people Members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Annandale, Virginia People from Henrico County, Virginia People who entered an Alford plea University of Virginia alumni Virginia Democrats Virginia Independents Virginia lawyers Virginia politicians convicted of crimes Virginia state senators