Ramin Fatehi is the commonwealth's attorney for Norfolk, Virginia. He previously worked as a public defender and federal prosecutor. He took office in 2022. He earned a bachelor's degree in history at Yale University and a law degree at Columbia University, then clerked for Virginia Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth B. Lacy. His earlier legal work included positions in Richmond, Chesapeake and Charlottesville. Before his election, he supervised Norfolk prosecutors handling drug offenses, impaired driving and fatal vehicle crashes.
DI has documented statements by Ramin Fatehi on 2026 Midterm Elections, Law Enforcement, and License-Plate Surveillance, among other topics. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.
Role at the time: Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney, debating on Open to Debate
Defended or excused
Statement summary
Fatehi calls for sensible national regulation while rejecting rules that would eliminate the system or require an interim ban.
“we need sensible regulation, we need national sensible regulation, but not regulation that either regulates the system out of existence or that requires a ban in the meantime.”
Networked automated license-plate cameras can assemble searchable records of vehicle movements. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to ban the systems, keep them with limits, or defend them as investigative tools. This tracker separates outright bans from narrower restrictions.
