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ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
- Bills & Resolutions: Since 1994
- Summaries: Since 1994
Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2010 SESSION
Reynolds (Chairman)
Clerk: Angi Murphy
Date of Meeting: January 14, 2010
Time and Place: 7:30 a.m., Senate Room A
Patron: Locke
Assault and battery; fire marshals; penalty. Adds fire marshals and assistant fire marshals who have police powers to the definition of law-enforcement officer in the assault and battery criminal provision, which means that the punishment for committing an assault and battery on such a person who is engaged in the performance of his public duties is elevated from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony, with a six-month mandatory minimum term of confinement.
Patron: Stuart
Purchase of service handguns. Allows a law-enforcement officer who retires at or after age 70 with at least 10 years of service to purchase his service handgun for $1.
Patron: Reynolds
Unexecuted warrants. Allows an attorney for the Commonwealth to move the court in which the warrant or summons would be returnable for the dismissal of any unserved warrant or summons issued by a magistrate. Dismissal would be without prejudice. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Criminal Justice Conference.
Patron: Howell
Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund. Requires the Virginia Worker's Compensation Commission, which administers the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, to adopt rates or fee schedules for payments to health care providers. The bill also provides that if a health care provider accepts payment from the Fund it is considered payment in full and the victim is not liable for the remainder.
Patron: Stuart
Petition to restore right to possess, etc., firearm; notice to attorney for the Commonwealth. Provides that if a person files a petition to restore his right to possess or carry a firearm, a copy of the petition shall be served on the attorney for the Commonwealth who shall be entitled to respond and represent the interests of the Commonwealth. The court shall hold a hearing on the petition if requested by either the petitioner or the attorney for the Commonwealth.
Patron: McDougle
Certificates of analysis and affidavits. Clarifies that the provisions requiring notification of defendants by the Commonwealth must be followed only if the certificate or affidavit is to be used in lieu of testimony. The bill also requires the defendant to provide the Commonwealth with a certificate of analysis no later than 14 days before trial if the accused intends to introduce an independent blood analysis, and makes some other changes to legislation enacted during the August 2009 Special Session in response to the United States Supreme Court decision in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 557 U.S. ___ (June 25, 2009).
Patron: Petersen
Electronic summons system; fees. Allows cities and counties to assess a fee not to exceed $3 as part of the costs in each criminal or traffic case to be used solely for an electronic summons system.
Patron: Petersen
Grand larceny; threshold amount. Increases from $200 to $210 the threshold amount of money or the value of the goods or chattel that the defendant must take before the crime rises from petit larceny to grand larceny. The same threshold is increased for certain property crimes.
Patron: Marsh
Waiver of payment of interest on fines and costs; incarcerated defendant. Provides for the purging of interest on fines and costs for an incarcerated defendant when such fines and costs have accrued on cases other than the one for which the defendant is incarcerated. Current law provides for the interest waiver only for the case for which the defendant is incarcerated.
Patron: Stuart
Destruction of exhibits. Relieves the clerk of notifying a defendant of the destruction or donation of certain exhibits used at trial: drugs, weapons, or exhibits deemed contraband. The defendant's attorney still receives notice. Any exhibits which are forfeitable to the state are controlled by other provisions of the Code where innocent owners have an opportunity to retrieve their property.
Patron: McDougle
Preliminary hearing; testimony reduced to writing. Allows the district court judge conducting the preliminary hearing to order witness testimony reduced to writing. Under current law only the judge of the court of record to which the case has been or may be certified can make such an order. This bill is a recommendation of the Committee on District Courts.
Patron: McDougle
Juvenile court docket; family assault. Requires cases of assault and battery against a family or household member to be advanced on the docket and heard within 30 days of arrest or service of a summons or as soon thereafter as practicable.
Patron: Wampler
Malicious injury; search and rescue personnel. Adds search and rescue personnel who are members of an organization that has a memorandum of understanding with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management to the definition of search and rescue personnel so that the enhanced penalty will apply if they are the victims of malicious or unlawful wounding. Malicious wounding is a Class 3 felony (five to 20 years); the penalty for malicious wounding of search and rescue personnel is five to 30 years, with a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of two years. Unlawful wounding of search and rescue personnel is a Class 6 felony (one to five years), with a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of one year.