Elizabeth Lancaster \u2014 who spent 15 years as a public defender in Loudoun County and two more years as a private attorney for crime victims \u2014 announced at a news conference Tuesday that she plans to run for the Loudoun County commonwealth\u2019s attorney job.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Lancaster, a Democrat, <\/b>launched her campaign in the primary race against incumbent Buta Biberaj (D). Biberaj was elected in 2019 as part of a wave of liberal prosecutors in Northern Virginia, some of whom have since faced criticism and recall efforts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Lancaster said <\/b>she was \u201crunning for commonwealth\u2019s attorney to right the ship,\u201d though she noted that she was not challenging Biberaj because of her ideology. Both she and Biberaj support criminal justice reform.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cCriminal justice reform is not a dirty word,\u201d Lancaster said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Lancaster said there was high turnover in Biberaj\u2019s office, affecting the county\u2019s ability to successfully prosecute cases. Lancaster also denounced Biberaj\u2019s decision to \u201cdefer to the court and law enforcement<\/a>\u201d \u2014 or step back prosecutors\u2019 involvement \u2014 on some misdemeanor and traffic cases. Biberaj has defended the move, saying it is meant to conserve resources for more violent offenses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhat is happening right now in Loudoun County is not justice reform,\u201d Lancaster said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Biberaj did not respond to multiple requests for comment about Lancaster\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Fairfax County top prosecutor Steve Descano to seek reelection in 2023<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Lancaster said she currently represents survivors of domestic violence, and <\/b>she represented sexual assault victims at two Loudoun high schools<\/a>. If she was elected, Lancaster said, domestic violence cases would be a high priority for her office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Fairfax County Commonwealth\u2019s Attorney Steve Descano (D), who was also among the liberal prosecutors elected in 2019, announced his reelection campaign this month, and he will face a challenge from <\/b>lawyer Ed Nuttall, who has represented officers involved in police shootings<\/a>. Nuttall told The Washington Post he planned to launch his campaign in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In Arlington, Josh Katcher (D) is campaigning against Commonwealth\u2019s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, his former supervisor. Katcher worked in Dehghani-Tafti\u2019s office until August, according to his campaign website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n