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Criminal Procedure

Passed

P HB18

Who are conservators of the peace. Adds any special agent of the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation to that list of persons considered conservators of the peace while engaged in the performance of their official duties.
Patron - Orrock

P HB41

Wiretaps. Allows officers from a town police department to observe or monitor an interception if that police department originated the investigation leading to the wiretap application.
Patron - Woodrum

P HB52

Deletion of obsolete Code references. Strikes cross-references to § 46.2-626, which was repealed in 1996. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Code Commission in furtherance of the objective to identify obsolete provisions of law pursuant to § 30-151.
Patron - Landes

P HB68

Appeal by the Commonwealth. Allows for an appeal from a circuit court in certain felony actions provided the Commonwealth certifies that the appeal is not taken for purpose of delay and that the evidence is substantial proof of a fact material in the proceeding. Under current law, the Commonwealth must certify that the evidence is essential to the prosecution.
Patron - Janis

P HB242

Public defender's office. Establishes a public defender's office in the City of Norfolk.
Patron - Drake

P HB370

Sealing of grand jury indictment. Specifies that upon ex parte motion by the Commonwealth and for good cause shown, the circuit court may seal an indictment until the defendant is arrested.
Patron - Cosgrove

P HB405

Criminal history record information; Compeer. Allows volunteers of any Virginia affiliate of Compeer to obtain, at no cost, personal criminal history records in connection with a person's application to become a Compeer volunteer. Compeer brings trained volunteers together with adults and children receiving mental health services in one-on-one matches.
Patron - Weatherholtz

P HB452

Sex Offender Registry. Requires persons convicted of a second or subsequent violation of an offense for which registration is required to continue to reregister for their lifetime. This provision is necessary to bring Virginia into compliance with the Jacob Wetterling Act and to avoid the loss of federal funds under that act.
Patron - Griffith

P HB724

Confidentiality of pretrial and community-based probation records. Exempts any pretrial investigation report or other records of a local pretrial services agency and any report or other records of a local community-based probation agency from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Patron - Howell

P HB892

Saliva or tissue sample required for DNA analysis upon arrest for a violent felony. Requires every person arrested for a violent felony to submit a saliva or tissue sample for DNA analysis. The bill also requires that the sample and any record thereof be destroyed by the Division of Forensic Science if the person is found not guilty or the case is dismissed.
Patron - McDougle

P HB1043

Criminal history records information. Provides that each local board of social services and licensed child-placing agency shall obtain and consider, in accordance with regulations adopted by the State Board of Social Services, criminal history record information from the Central Criminal Records Exchange and the results of a search of the child abuse and neglect central registry of any individual with whom the local board or agency is considering placing a child on an emergency, temporary or permanent basis, including the birth parent of a child in foster care placement. The local board or agency may also obtain such a criminal records or central registry search on all adult household members residing in the home of the individual with whom the child is to be placed. In emergency circumstances, each local board or licensed child-placing agency may obtain, from a criminal justice agency, criminal history record information through the Virginia Criminal Information Network. This bill is identical to SB 219.
Patron - Moran

P HB1117

Sex offender registration; penalty. Requires any person under a duty to register as a sex offender to initially register or, upon change of residence, to reregister in person with the law-enforcement agency of the jurisdiction in which the registrant resides. Upon registration or reregistration, the local law-enforcement agency shall obtain from the registrant two sets of fingerprints, proof of residency and two photographs of a type and kind specified by the State Police for inclusion in the Registry. The registrant must provide a governmental photo-ID to establish proof of residence. Under current law, the registrant may reregister by mail.
Patron - Janis

P HB1230

DNA testing. Eliminates language in the section so that lawfully acquired DNA samples obtained in a criminal investigation can be used by law-enforcement officials for comparison with evidence obtained in other crimes.
Patron - Keister

P SB97

Presentence mental evaluation of sex offenders. Requires the examiner's report to be confidential except as needed for the prosecution or defense of an offense or for assessment by the Attorney General for civil commitment and requires that it be sealed once the sentencing order is entered. The defendant is required to return to the court his copy of the report at the conclusion of sentencing.
Patron - Howell

P SB135

Speedy trial. Provides that a criminal trial is commenced at the point when jeopardy would attach or when a plea of guilty or nolo contendere is tendered by the defendant. As introduced, this bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council.
Patron - Stolle

P SB136

Detention and Diversion Centers. Provides that an evaluation for participation in the Detention Center Incarceration Program or the Diversion Center Incarceration Program can occur upon motion of the attorney for the Commonwealth or the court's own motion, as well as the defendant's motion. This bill is a recommendation of the Judicial Council.
Patron - Stolle

P SB137

Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund. Allows Virginia residents to access the Fund if victimized while traveling in another country or in a territory. The bill provides that the parent of a child victim may apply for compensation on behalf of the child, so the parent can get lost wages for medical and legal appointments, etc. The bill also allows the person who paid for the victim's funeral to be reimbursed rather than limiting funral reimbursement to certain relatives. The top limit award for weekly wages is increased from $200 to $600 and for moving expenses is increased from $500 to $1,000. Attorneys for the Commonwealth are directed to request restitution when an award has been made from the Fund, so that the Fund can be reimbursed.
Patron - Stolle

P SB219

Criminal history records information incident to placement of a foster child. Provides that each local board of social services and licensed child-placing agency shall obtain and consider, in accordance with regulations adopted by the State Board of Social Services, criminal history record information from the Central Criminal Records Exchange and the results of a search of the child abuse and neglect central registry of any individual with whom the local board or agency is considering placing a child on an emergency, temporary or permanent basis, including the birth parent of a child in foster care placement. The local board or agency may also obtain such a criminal records or central registry search on all adult household members residing in the home of the individual with whom the child is to be placed. In emergency circumstances, each local board or licensed child-placing agency may obtain, from a criminal justice agency, criminal history record information through the Virginia Criminal Information Network. This bill is identical to HB 1043.
Patron - Ticer

P SB291

Commonwealth's right to appeal in felony actions. Expands the Commonwealth's right to appeal by providing that any circuit court sentencing order that is contrary to statutory mandatory sentencing or restitution terms is appealable.
Patron - Norment

P SB317

Public Defender Commission; duties. Requires the Public Defender Commission to (i) require and ensure that each public defender office collects and maintains caseload data and fields in a case management database on an annual basis, (ii) report annually on or before October 1 to the Virginia State Crime Commission, the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Senate Committee on Finance detailing Virginia's ranking amongst the 50 states in terms of pay allowed for court-appointed counsel, cost effectiveness of the various public defender offices and the cost effectiveness of establishing public defender offices in those localities that do not offer public defender services and (iii) establish four regional capital defense units by the end of fiscal year 2004. The bill also requires that in capital cases after July 1, 2004, one attorney in indigent capital cases be appointed from a capital defense unit established by the Public Defender Commission.
Patron - Stolle

P SB353

DUI; blood alcohol test. Increases the time limit for implied consent in post-arrest chemical tests. Under current law a person arrested is deemed to have consented to breath and blood tests if the person is arrested within two hours of the alleged offense. This bill increases that time to three hours.
Patron - Reynolds

P SB357

Venue in homicide cases. Provides that when it is unknown where the crime was committed and the victim is removed from the Commonwealth for medical treatment prior to death and dies outside the Commonwealth, venue exists in the jurisdiction where the victim was when removed for medical treatment.
Patron - Reynolds

P SB419

DNA sample of felons; payment. Provides for a $25 fee for withdrawal of the blood, saliva or tissue sample required to be taken from all felons. The fee will be taxed as part of the costs of the criminal case resulting in the felony conviction and one-half is to be paid into the general fund of the locality where the sample was taken and one-half into the general fund of the state treasury.
Patron - Rerras

P SB482

Persons acquitted of misdemeanors by reason of insanity. Provides that a person found not guilty of a misdemeanor by reason of insanity shall remain in the custody of the Commissioner of Mental Health and Mental Retardation for a period not to exceed one year from the date of acquittal and also provides that prior to or at the conclusion of one year, if the Commissioner determines that the acquittee meets the criteria for release, emergency custody, temporary detention or involuntary commitment, he shall file a petition to accomplish same. The Commissioner must notify the committing attorney for the Commonwealth prior to release.
Patron - Howell

P SB513

Costs of extradition. Requires a fugitive found guilty to pay the costs of extradition. Currently, only a fleeing probationer or parolee who must be extradited must pay the costs.
Patron - Reynolds

P SB535

DNA analysis upon arrest for a violent felony. Requires a saliva or tissue DNA sample to be taken from every person arrested for a violent felony. If the charge is dismissed or the person is acquitted at trial the DNA sample must be destroyed by the Division of Forensic Science. The bill further provides for civil immunity for the sample taker unless he is negligent. The bill has an effective date of January 1, 2003.
Patron - Mims

P SB633

DNA testing. Removes provision that prohibits inclusion of blood samples and results of analysis of the samples submitted to the Division of Forensic Science in the DNA data bank established by the Division.
Patron - Edwards

P SB634

Revocation of suspended sentence. Rewrites statute governing revocation of suspended sentence and probation for clarity and to allow the court to issue process (a capias or show cause) to a defendant within one year of the expiration of the probationary period. Under current law the hearing itself must be held within one year of the expiration of the probationary period.
Patron - Stolle

Failed

F HB69

Arrest in lieu of service of summons in minor misdemeanor case. Allows an officer who has temporary custody of a person who committed a minor misdemeanor to either arrest the person or issue a summons. Currently, only a summons can be issued unless the person refuses to sign it or presents some other danger that gives rise to the officer's right to place the individual under arrest.
Patron - Janis

F HB306

Civil commitment of sexually violent predators. Extends the effective date of the Acts of Assembly that provide for the civil commitment of sexually violent predators from January 1, 2003, to January 1, 2005.
Patron - McDonnell

F HB312

Confidentiality of pretrial records. Exempts any pretrial investigation report prepared by a local pretrial services officer or agency from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Patron - Howell

F HB355

Property forfeitures in drug cases. Allows all cash, negotiable instruments and proceeds from a sale after forfeiture to be retained by the local law-enforcement agency, at the option of the political subdivision primarily responsible for the forfeiture. Currently, all forfeitures must be paid over to Department of Criminal Justice Services for distribution in accordance with statutory scheme.
Patron - Sears

F HB509

Competency of court-appointed counsel. Requires the Supreme Court and Public Defender Commission to establish minimum standards of competency for attorneys admitted to practice law in Virginia who are qualified to represent defendants charged with a crime the penalty for which may be incarceration.
Patron - Drake

F HB527

Escape and custody. Redefines the law of custody as follows: a person shall be deemed to be lawfully in the custody of a law-enforcement officer if, when he receives an oral communication from the officer that he is under arrest, (i) the officer has the immediate ability to place the person under formal arrest, and (ii) a person of ordinary intelligence and understanding who received such communication would know that he is not free to leave. This change overrules the holding in Cavell v. Commonwealth, 28 VA. App. 484, 506 S. E. 2d 552 (1998).
Patron - Devolites

F HB549

Death penalty; moratorium on executions. Provides a two-year moratorium on executions of prisoners sentenced to death. All other matters of law relating to the death penalty, such as bringing and trying capital charges, sentencing proceedings, appeals and habeas review are not affected by the bill.
Patron - Callahan

F HB594

Compensation of court-appointed counsel. Requires the Supreme Court of Virginia to establish a schedule for all fees paid to court-appointed counsel that is equal to the national average paid to court-appointed counsel.
Patron - Moran

F HB595

Unrestorable incompetent defendants. Corrects an error in placement of the words "without prejudice" (modifying the term "dismissed") and creates the meaning originally intended by the statute.
Patron - Albo

F HB767

Parole; community-based programs. Requires the Department of Corrections to give nonviolent prisoners the opportunity to participate in residential community programs, work release, or community-based programs approved by the Secretary of Public Safety within six months of such prisoner's projected or mandatory release date.
Patron - Watts

F HB768

Substance abuse screening for designated felony conviction. Authorizes the court to suspend, with terms and conditions, including periodic drug abuse screening, the sentence imposed on a person convicted of a felony violation when the sentence would be three years or less under the sentencing guidelines. If any part of the sentence is suspended, the court shall require the defendant to enter a drug treatment program and to submit to periodic substance abuse screening, and to pay for all or part of the treatment program and screening, based upon his ability to pay. Provision is made for the defendant to serve the original sentence should he fail any term or condition of his suspension.
Patron - Watts

F HB788

Deferred disposition; costs. Requires the court to impose costs upon a defendant when the court defers further proceedings, does not enter a judgment of guilt and places the defendant on probation. This bill is a recommendation of the Committee on District Courts.
Patron - Armstrong

F HB815

Ex parte motions in death penalty cases. Provides that a defendant represented by appointed counsel shall be permitted to file an ex parte motion seeking appointment of one or more experts or funding for expert assistance.
Patron - Almand

F HB959

Petition for writ of actual innocence based on previously unknown evidence of actual innocence. Allows a convicted and incarcerated individual to petition the Supreme Court for a writ of actual innocence based upon any new evidence, not just DNA.
Patron - Almand

F HJ63

Bail bondsmen. Requests the Department of Criminal Justice Services to study whether the responsibility for the certification and supervision of bail bondsmen should be shifted from the judicial branch to the executive branch of state government. This resolution is incorporated into HJR 201.
Patron - Howell

F SB10

Death Penalty Opposition Registry. Provides that a person may devise his entire estate to the Virginia Board of Corrections expressly for use by the Board to defray the cost of life imprisonment of persons convicted of capital murder and that if a person (i) so devises his entire estate, (ii) registers his opposition to the death penalty in a Death Penalty Opposition Registry and (iii) is the victim of capital murder, the person convicted of the capital murder shall not be eligible for execution.
Patron - Barry

F SB90

Death penalty; moratorium on executions. Provides that the State shall not conduct executions of prisoners sentenced to death. All other matters of law relating to the death penalty, such as bringing and trying capital charges, sentencing proceedings, appeals and habeas review are not affected by the bill.
Patron - Marsh

F SB106

Public defender office; Montgomery County. Adds Montgomery County to the list of localities that have public defender offices.
Patron - Marye

F SB210

Criminal history records information incident to an emergency placement of a child. Permits a child-protective services worker of a local department of social services or a law-enforcement officer to obtain a search of the central registry of child abuse and neglect and a criminal history records check of the Central Criminal Records Exchange incident to an emergency placement of a child in need of services when the worker or officer is considering placing the child with a responsible adult, other than the child's parent or legal guardian.
Patron - Ticer

F SB227

Indictment. Provides that a person arrested for a felony may be indicted prior to the preliminary hearing, in which case there is no preliminary hearing.
Patron - Trumbo

F SB273

Criminal history records check. Grants access to a dispatcher of a 911 emergency system for the purpose of determining and informing any first responders if any person who is the subject of a call has been convicted of a crime.
Patron - Puckett

F SB434

Jury sentencing. Provides that a Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN) report on the defendant's prior convictions is prima facie evidence of such convictions. The defendant has the right to challenge evidence of prior convictions prior to their admission. The bill also provides that if the convicting jury is not available at the time of sentencing a different jury shall be impaneled.
Patron - Williams

F SB473

Criminal procedure; speedy trial. Adds another exception to the requirement for a speedy trial by providing that the statutory time limit for trying the accused is tolled when the reason for delay is due to a witness being called to active military duty.
Patron - Quayle

Carried Over

C HB292

Authority to defer and dismiss. Provides that before a judgment of guilt in a misdemeanor or felony prosecution, a judge may defer further proceedings and impose probation upon such terms and conditions upon the defendant as the court deems proper in the case, provided that in any case involving (i) a felony or a misdemeanor in which the Commonwealth is represented and both the attorney for the Commonwealth and the defendant consent, (ii) any other misdemeanor, when the punishment does not include a mandatory, minimum term of incarceration, the defendant has no prior criminal record and the defendant consents or (iii) any traffic infraction and the defendant consents. The bill provides further that upon violation of a term or condition, the court may proceed with the case and that upon fulfillment of the terms and conditions, the court may discharge the person and dismiss the proceedings without an adjudication of guilt or impose a sentence in accordance with the law.
Patron - McDonnell

C HB365

Criminal procedure; offenses committed on boundary of localities. Clarifies that a law-enforcement officer of either city has the authority to make an arrest when an offense is committed on the boundary of two cities.
Patron - Cosgrove

C HB454

Orders for facial recognition technology. Creates a procedure by which a locality or a law-enforcement agency shall apply for an order from a court prior to employing facial recognition technology. Facial recognition technology means any technology or software system that identifies humans by using a biometric system to identify and analyze a person's facial characteristics and is employed for the purpose of matching a facial image captured by cameras placed in any public place, other than in a state or local correctional facility, with an image stored in a database.
Patron - Griffith

C HB957

Imposition of the death sentence upon mentally retarded defendants prohibited. Prohibits the imposition of the death penalty upon a mentally retarded defendant. The bill makes it clear that the prohibition does not prevent a defendant from being charged with or tried for a capital offense, convicted of a Class 1 felony, nor does it prevent the court from sentencing the defendant to imprisonment for life pursuant to § 18.2-10.
Patron - Almand

C HB1032

Criminal history record information. Allows the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP) to access the criminal history record of a person receiving services for a reckless driving conviction.
Patron - Moran

C HB1068

Criminal history record information; youth mentoring programs. Allows any mentoring program that matches volunteers with young people to receive the required criminal history records checks free of charge.
Patron - Van Landingham

C HB1165

Criminal procedure; indictment. Provides that a person arrested for a felony may be indicted prior to the preliminary hearing, in which case there is no preliminary hearing.
Patron - McDonnell

C HB1347

Criminal procedure; magistrates. Provides that upon request, magistrates shall provide information on the amount of a bond to the public.
Patron - Christian

C SB89

C SB155

Discharge and dismissal; larceny. Adds larceny to the crimes where the court can place the defendant on probation, even though the facts justify a finding of guilt, and discharge the defendant and dismiss the proceedings against him if he fulfills the terms and conditions of his probation. Like the crimes currently listed in the section, larceny qualifies only if it is a misdemeanor and a crime against property.
Patron - Norment

C SB318

VCIN and NCIC. Provides an exception to the requirement that a felony warrant be entered into the Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN) and National Crime Information Center (NCIC) within 72 hours of receipt of the warrant. The 72-hour period can be extended for no more than 60 days if the chief judge of the circuit court determines that the public safety would be served by such a delay.
Patron - Stolle

C SB532

Restitution. Provides that the Supreme Court shall develop a central repository of information to record the amount of restitution ordered, the amount collected and the time frame for repayment, and shall provide technical assistance to localities regarding enforcing the collection of restitution.
Patron - Howell

C SB636

Court-appointed counsel; compensation. Allows the court to award compensation in excess of statutory limits when the court finds that the time and effort expended by counsel in a circuit court case justifies the award. In making its determination the court is to consider the nature of the charges, the duration of the litigation, the complexity of the legal issues involved and the total number of hours in and out of court.
Patron - Stolle

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