Fmr. LG Justin Fairfax is New Counsel for Donovon Lynch Fam in $50 Million Lawsuit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 6, 2022
Former Virginia Lieutenant Governor and Former Federal Prosecutor Justin E. Fairfax, Esq. Retained as Lead Legal Counsel in $50 Million Wrongful Death Federal Lawsuit in Slaying of Donovon Lynch by Virginia Beach Police Department Officer Solomon Simmons, III
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA — Wayne Lynch, the father of Donovon Lynch, and former Assistant United States Attorney Justin E. Fairfax, Esq., who served as Virginia’s 41st Lieutenant Governor, will hold a press conference on Monday, October 10, 2022 at 10:00am in Virginia Beach, Virginia at the site of Donovon Lynch’s unlawful killing by an Officer of the Virginia Beach Police Department on March 26, 2021.
Lynch was shot and killed by Virginia Beach Police Department Officer Solomon Simmons, III, who gave no warning before firing two shots that struck and killed Donovon, had no legal justification for taking the life of Mr. Lynch, did not activate his body-worn camera and did not render aid to save Donovon’s life.
Fairfax, along with attorney Thomas B. Martin of Martin Law PLLC, will now lead the new legal team for the Estate of Donovon Lynch and the Lynch Family moving forward. Wayne Lynch sued the City of Virginia Beach and Officer Simmons in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Norfolk Division) in the wrongful death of his 25-year-old son, who was a college-educated entrepreneur, peaceful man of deep faith, licensed, trained and legally-permitted security professional and a pillar of the Virginia Beach community.
In March 2022, United States District Court Judge Arenda Wright Allen ruled that Lynch’s lawsuit against the City of Virginia Beach and Officer Simmons held legal merit and sufficiency and could proceed. A jury trial is scheduled to begin on April 4, 2023.
The City of Virginia Beach and its Police Department have provided no adequate explanation or justification for why Donovon was shot and killed. Additionally, the Virginia Beach Police Department has offered numerous, inconsistent and conflicting accounts of the events that resulted in Donovon’s murder and has resisted an independent federal investigation into the unlawful slaying.
Donovon Lynch, a law-abiding citizen who presented no threat to the Police Department or to anyone else, was unlawfully shot and killed by Virginia Beach Police Officer Solomon Simmons, III on March 26, 2021 after Lynch had dinner with a friend near the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
Incredibly, Virginia Beach Police Officer Simmons did not give any warning before shooting and killing Donovon, the Officer’s body-worn camera happened to be turned off when he unlawfully and tragically ended Donovon’s life and the Officer failed to render aid to try to save Donovon.
Donovon’s life mattered and still matters. His life was not, and is not, worthless – as the City of Virginia Beach seems to believe as evidenced by its actions since he was killed. We will never forget Donovon, and we will not allow his memory to fade. Donovon should be here with us now. He is not here with us now because of a fatal error in judgement by Virginia Beach Police Officer Solomon Simmons, III and because of the failure of the Virginia Beach Police Department to adequately train Officer Simmons and others or to address its long-standing and well-documented history of the gross violation of the civil rights of numerous Virginia residents over the span of decades – particularly those in the African-American community.
Every citizen should have the right to leave a restaurant and walk to their car – regardless of race or ethnicity – without being killed by police. Virginia Beach Police Officer Solomon Simmons, III acted without warning and killed Donovon. No family should have to go through the tragedy, torture, heartache and injustice that the Lynch family has had to endure for far too long.
No citizen or family of Virginia Beach, the Commonwealth of Virginia or the United States should be treated and devalued in this way. No one should be taken away from their family and friends. The City of Virginia Beach has offered no adequate explanation for the unlawful killing of Donovon. We will fight for justice in this matter until the end. It is well-past time for this wrong to be made right and for justice to be done for Donovon. The great citizens of Virginia Beach will rise to the occasion and finally deliver justice and make it clear that this injustice will not be allowed to continue in their name.
Media Contact: Lauren Burke/Win Digital Media LLC. Text or call 703-244-7970
41 st Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Justin E. Fairfax, Esq.
Justin E. Fairfax, Esq., 43, served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in the Major Crimes and Narcotics Unit in the Alexandria Division. In that role, Fairfax prosecuted a wide range of federal felony criminal offenses, including embezzlement, fraud, armed robbery, carjacking, narcotics trafficking, international currency and narcotics smuggling, and illegal immigration. He also developed an expertise in identifying, unraveling and prosecuting large-scale cover-ups and complex criminal conspiracies.
Additionally, Fairfax was selected to serve as the Deputy Coordinator of the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force, and he argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Fairfax has been widely recognized as one of the top and most gifted and tenacious litigators in America. At the age of 34, Fairfax was awarded the National Bar Association’s “Nation’s Best Advocates Award,” which recognizes 40 top attorneys nationwide under the age of 40. He also worked as a top litigator in private practice for several top large international law firms.
He previously served as a judicial law clerk for United States District Court Judge Gerald Bruce Lee in the Eastern District of Virginia (Alexandria Division). Fairfax received his J.D. from ivy-league Columbia Law School where he was selected as a Senior Editor of the prestigious Columbia Law Review. He graduated from Duke University with an A.B. in Public Policy Studies. At Duke University, Fairfax was elected in 2000 as the only student in
the undergraduate student body to serve as a member of the Duke University Board of Trustees and later as a member of the Board of Visitors of the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy. In 2000, Fairfax also was selected as the Student Graduation Speaker for the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy.
Fairfax served as the 41st Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2018-2022. He is only the second African-American ever elected to statewide office in the 400-year history of the Commonwealth of Virginia, following in the footsteps of Virginia’s legendary 66th Governor L. Douglas Wilder – who was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1985 and Governor in 1989.
As the Second-in-Command of the Commonwealth and President of the Senate of Virginia, Fairfax delivered the expansion of Medicaid coverage to more than 700,000 Virginians by expertly managing the Senate and casting historic tie-breaking votes. In his tenure, Fairfax impacted Virginia’s $135 billion biennial budget and wide-ranging statewide public policy, and he served on Boards and Commissions that address Virginia’s economic development and competitiveness, military assets, childhood education and development and environmental policy.
At the conclusion of his four-year term as Lieutenant Governor in 2022, Fairfax was praised by Senators of both political parties. He has been lauded as the best Lieutenant Governor in the 400-year history of Virginia.
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