(The Center Square) – Attorney General Jason Miyares on Friday released a report accusing Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano of mishandling cases, violating the Constitution, and putting policies in place that his office says have weakened public safety in Virginia’s largest county.
Miyares said the report shows years of problems inside Descano’s office. According to the findings, Descano’s office ignored victims’ rights, failed to turn over required evidence and struck plea deals that judges later rejected.
“Justice isn’t optional, and our laws are not suggestions. Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano has betrayed the rule of law and the very people he swore to protect, turning prosecutorial discretion into deliberate, weaponized incompetence,” Miyares said in a statement.
He added that the oath prosecutors take to uphold the law and protect victims is sacred, and that when those duties are ignored, victims are denied justice and the public loses faith in the system meant to protect them. Miyares called that outcome dangerous.
The Attorney General pointed to repeated failures to provide what is known as “Brady” evidence, which prosecutors are constitutionally required to share with defendants. That includes police reports, statements, expert testimony and scientific evidence.
According to the report, Descano’s office withheld or delayed that material. One case involved a man charged with first-degree murder where evidence pointing to self-defense was not disclosed for nine months, a delay a judge described as “inexcusable.”
The report also noted that judges in Fairfax rejected plea agreements, ruling that deals offered by Descano’s office were too lenient toward violent and serious offenders.
The report states that Descano has enacted policies that set aside laws passed by the General Assembly and replaced them with a different legal code created by his office. The report specifically points to three policies: prohibiting enforcement of mandatory minimum sentences, raising the statutory threshold for grand larceny and eliminating cash bail for repeat felons.
It also says his refusal to prosecute certain cases is a deliberate failure to carry out responsibilities required by law. The report says that conduct denies crime victims their constitutional rights to fairness, dignity and respect under Article I, Section 8-A of the Virginia Constitution.
Miyares referred the matter to the U.S. Department of Justice to review whether Fairfax prosecutors engaged in unlawful practices, including allegations that the office concealed or shielded undocumented immigrants from detection.
Miyares also urged lawmakers to expand the Attorney General’s authority to prosecute certain sex crimes, restore a presumption against bail for violent offenders, and create a statewide group to monitor compliance with the Crime Victim and Witness Rights Act.
Kate Hanger, executive director of the Virginia Victim Assistance Network, said the report shows systemic harms inflicted on crime victims by the criminal justice system meant to protect them.
“This failure to uphold the rights and well-being of our residents is an urgent matter that has been brought to light repeatedly over the years,” Hanger said.
She added that many victims are “too often robbed of the dignity, respect and sensitivity afforded to them by law, while the rights of defendants are consistently prioritized,” leaving victims marginalized and re-victimized.
The release follows Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s request for Miyares’ office to investigate a Fairfax case involving a man accused of attempted abduction. On Friday, Youngkin called Descano’s actions “dangerous” and urged an immediate recall.
Descano pushed back on the report in a statement to The Center Square, calling it “a sad, last-ditch political stunt by a man who’s about to lose an election.”
“His lies, half-truths, and distortions don’t change the fact that voters elected me twice to run our justice system this way, and in doing so we’ve kept Fairfax the safest large county of its size in the country,” Descano said. “If the AG doesn’t like how we do things here he’s welcome to run for Commonwealth’s Attorney.”
