Maureen Anne Blake

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Charge:	Failure to ensure school attendence
Sentence:	"$3,000 fine suspended for 1 yr"
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	2011
Year Convicted:	2012
Year Cleared:	2014
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Virginia
County or Region of Crime:	Loudoun
City of Crime:	Purcellville
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Maureen Anne Blake was wrongly convicted in February 2012 of three misdemeanor violations of Virginia State Code § 22.1-263 that is the enforcement provision for Code § 22.1-254, a compulsory school attendance statute obligating parents and guardians to “send” children of specified age to school. Blake lived in Purcellville, Virginia and she shared custody of her three children, aged 8, 10, and 11, with her ex-husband. The children attended Lincoln Elementary School in Purcellville. Blake was prosecuted based on bringing her three children late to school five times during the seven weeks from December 1, 2011 to January 19, 2012. Blake was convicted on February 29, 2012 after a bench trial in the Loudoun County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Maureen Blake was sentenced to pay a total fine of $3,000 that was suspended for one year on condition she didn't commits any crimes and that her three children have no unexcused absences or tardy slips on their school records in that time. Blake appealed. The Virginia Court of Appeals affirmed Blake's convictions in ruling that the State was not required to prove Blake knowingly and willfully violated compulsory attendance law nor was it required to prove notice. Blake appealed the appeals court's ruling. On October 31, 2014 the Virginia Supreme Court vacated Blake's convictions in ruling that § 22.1-254 cannot be used to criminally prosecute parents or guardians based upon tardiness in a child's arrival at school, or even an absence from school. The ruling acquitted Blake because she didn't commit a crime."
Conviction Caused By:	Trial judge's improper application of the compulsory school attendence requirement.
Innocence Proved By:	"On October 31, 2014 the Virginia Supreme Court vacated Blake's convictions in ruling that § 22.1-254 cannot be used to criminally prosecute parents or guardians based upon tardiness in a child's arrival at school, or even an absence from school."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Female
Skin/Ethnicity:
Information Source 1:	"Blake v. Commonwealth, No. 140081 (VA Supreme Ct., 10-31-2014 ) (Vacating convictions and ordering dismissal)"
Information Location 1:	http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opnscvwp/1140081.pdf
Information Source 2:	"Blake v. Commonwealth, No. 1751-12-4 (VA Ct. of Appeals, 11-19-2013) (Affirming convictions)"
Information Location 2:	http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opncavwp/1751124.pdf
Information Source 3:	"Court spurns Virginia mom's conviction for taking children to school late, By Gary Robertson, WKZO.com (Kalamazoo, MI), October 31, 2014"
Information Location 3:	http://wkzo.com/news/articles/2014/oct/31/court-spurns-virginia-moms-conviction-for-taking-children-to-school-late/
Information Source 4:	"Purcellville woman found guilty of children’s constant tardiness, By by Laura Peters, Loudon Times, March 1, 2014"
Information Location 4:	http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/purcellville_woman_found_guilty_of_childrens_constant_tardiness123/
Information Source 5:	"Mother Found Guilty In Tardy Students Case, By Danielle Nadler, Leesburg Today, February 29, 2014"
Information Location 5:	http://www.leesburgtoday.com/news/article_3d1fc8f2-6324-11e1-ac97-001871e3ce6c.html
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Maureen Anne Blake

Charge:

Failure to ensure school attendence

Sentence:

"$3,000 fine suspended for 1 yr"

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

2011

Year Convicted:

2012

Year Cleared:

2014

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Virginia

County or Region of Crime:

Loudoun

City of Crime:

Purcellville

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Trial judge's improper application of the compulsory school attendence requirement.

Innocence Proved By:

"On October 31, 2014 the Virginia Supreme Court vacated Blake's convictions in ruling that § 22.1-254 cannot be used to criminally prosecute parents or guardians based upon tardiness in a child's arrival at school, or even an absence from school."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Female

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Blake v. Commonwealth, No. 140081 (VA Supreme Ct., 10-31-2014 ) (Vacating convictions and ordering dismissal)"

Information Location 1:

http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opnscvwp/1140081.pdf

Information Source 2:

"Blake v. Commonwealth, No. 1751-12-4 (VA Ct. of Appeals, 11-19-2013) (Affirming convictions)"

Information Location 2:

http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opncavwp/1751124.pdf

Information Source 3:

"Court spurns Virginia mom's conviction for taking children to school late, By Gary Robertson, WKZO.com (Kalamazoo, MI), October 31, 2014"

Information Location 3:

http://wkzo.com/news/articles/2014/oct/31/court-spurns-virginia-moms-conviction-for-taking-children-to-school-late/

Information Source 4:

"Purcellville woman found guilty of children’s constant tardiness, By by Laura Peters, Loudon Times, March 1, 2014"

Information Location 4:

http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/purcellville_woman_found_guilty_of_childrens_constant_tardiness123/

Information Source 5:

"Mother Found Guilty In Tardy Students Case, By Danielle Nadler, Leesburg Today, February 29, 2014"

Information Location 5:

http://www.leesburgtoday.com/news/article_3d1fc8f2-6324-11e1-ac97-001871e3ce6c.html

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