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2010 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Courts of Justice

Chairman: Henry L. Marsh III

Clerk: Angi Murphy
Staff: J. French, M. Felch, K. Stokes
Date of Meeting: March 3, 2010
Time and Place: 2:00 P.M., Senate Room A

H.B. 93

Patron: Kilgore

Uninsured motorist insurance coverage. Permits a liability insurer to be relieved of the costs of defending the owner or operator in a claim involving property damage or bodily injury, including death, incurred after the liability insurer makes an irrevocable written offer to pay the limits of its policy and notifies any insurer providing underinsured motorist coverage with respect to the claim. The insurer or insurers providing underinsured motorist coverage shall reimburse the liability insurer or insurers for the costs of defending the underinsured motor vehicle owner or operator. The liability insurer retains the duty to defend its insured. If underinsured motorist coverage is provided by more than one insurer, the cost to defend shall be assumed in the same order of priority as applies to payments of underinsured benefits.

H.B. 98

Patron: Loupassi

Restricted learner's permit. Authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a restricted learner's permit if the person is 25 years of age or older and a court has authorized restricted driving privileges to the person.

H.B. 227

Patron: Watts

Sex offenses prohibiting entry onto school property. Current law allows an adult who is prohibited from entering upon school or child day center property because he was convicted of a sexually violent offense to petition either the juvenile and domestic relations district or circuit court of the locality for permission to enter the property; this bill provides that the petition must be filed in circuit court.

H.B. 311

Patron: O'Bannon

Hospitalization of inmates in local correctional facilities.  Repeals provisions dealing with determining (i) a defendant's competency to be sentenced after he has been convicted of a crime and (ii) whether an inmate who is in the custody of a local correctional facility needs to be involuntarily hospitalized for treatment of mental illness, and substantially incorporates these provisions into statutes dealing generally with determinations of a defendant's competency and the hospitalization of inmates in the custody of local correctional facilities. The bill sets forth the procedures that a court or a person having custody of an inmate must follow to determine whether treatment of mental illness is necessary.

H.B. 494

Patron: Lingamfelter

Civil immunity for local government officers, etc.; notarial acts.  Provides that an officer, employee, or volunteer of a local government who is a commissioned notary public and is required to perform notarial acts for actions of the locality, without compensation, as a condition of his service with the local government, shall not be liable for civil damages for acts or omissions resulting from the performance of such act provided that such acts do not constitute gross negligence or willful misconduct.

H.B. 563

Patron: Tata

Equipment used to determine the decibel level of sound.  Authorizes a law-enforcement officer to use certain equipment to determine the decibel level of sound, including noise. The results of such determinations shall be accepted as prima facie evidence of the decibel level of the sound in any court or legal proceeding where the decibel level of the sound is at issue. The bill also provides that in any court or legal proceeding in which any question arises about the calibration or accuracy of such equipment used to determine the decibel level of sound, a certificate, or a true copy thereof, showing the calibration or testing for accuracy of the equipment, and when and by whom the calibration or test was made, shall be admissible as evidence of the facts therein stated.

H.B. 681

Patron: Miller, J.H.

Discretion of law-enforcement officer to arrest or issue summons for a jailable offense. Gives a law-enforcement officer discretion to arrest or to issue a summons to a person in his custody for having committed a Class 1 or 2 misdemeanor. Currently, the officer must issue a summons unless the person refuses to cease his criminal activity, is a danger to himself or others, or indicates he will disregard a summons.

H.B. 728

Patron: Albo

Conditions of release without bond.  Provides that no person arrested for a felony who has previously been convicted of a felony, or who is presently on bond for an unrelated arrest in any jurisdiction, or who is on probation or parole, may be released to a pretrial services agency in lieu of posting a secure bond unless he is determined by a court to be indigent.

H.B. 741

Patron: Cleaveland

Use of profane, threatening, or indecent language over public airways or by computer or text.  Provides that any person who uses obscene, vulgar, profane, lewd, lascivious, or indecent language, or makes any suggestion or proposal of an obscene nature, or threatens any illegal or immoral act with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass any person when any electronically transmitted message is received or transmitted by telephone is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Current law punishes such behavior when simply using a telephone or citizens band radio.

H.B. 770

Patron: Cleaveland

Arrest without warrant; DUI arrests.  Provides that an arresting officer at a medical facility may "release the person [a DUI accused] from custody by executing a summons." The bill also provides that an officer may either arrest or summons a person for a Class 1 or 2 misdemeanor except as otherwise provided "for offenses listed in subsection D of § 19.2-81." The bill also specifically states that when a summons is not issued for a person accused of DUI or refusal who has been taken to a medical facility, the officer shall bring the person before a judicial officer for a bail hearing. The bill allows an arrest to be made for misdemeanor offenses of DUI or "drunk boating" to be made by any officer, whether or not the offense occurred in his presence and removes language from the law providing for transfer of custody from one officer to another in drunk boating incidents. The bill changes nomenclature in the statute setting forth procedures for an arrest without a warrant to "complaining officer" from "officer making the arrest."

H.B. 854

Patron: Morefield

Castle doctrine.  Encodes a version of the "castle doctrine," allowing the use of physical force, including deadly force, against an intruder in his dwelling who has committed an overt act against him, without civil liability.

H.B. 862

Patron: Cline

Punishment of a juvenile for possession, etc., of alcohol.  Provides that a juvenile charged with possession, consumption, etc., of alcohol may be found delinquent of such a charge and punished, or have his case deferred and upon completion of the terms and conditions of his probation, have his case dismissed by the juvenile and domestic relations district court. Current law provides that the case shall be deferred and shall be dismissed upon completion of terms and conditions.

H.B. 864

Patron: Cline

Compensation of court-appointed counsel.  Requires a separate detailed accounting for representation expenses for each criminal charge and requires the judge to review the allocation of fees among the charges when counsel represents an indigent defendant on multiple charges that are tried by the court as part of the same judicial proceeding.

H.B. 908

Patron: Bell, Robert B.

Punishment for delinquent acts.  Provides that if a juvenile commits a second or subsequent offense of underage possession of alcohol he may be denied his driver's license for up to one year. Currently, for any such offense, the denial is for six months. Additionally, the bill provides that for a second or subsequent offense of underage possession of alcohol, public intoxication, or possession of a handgun or streetsweeper shotgun, his case shall not be simply dismissed upon completion of terms and conditions, as is currently an option, but shall be disposed of according to § 16.2-278.8 (multiple options, including commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice).

H.B. 924

Patron: Bell, Robert B.

What constitutes a DUI arrest. Provides that for the purposes of implied to consent to have blood or breath samples taken for suspicion of DUI, a person shall submit to a blood test when he is (i) in a medical facility receiving treatment or evaluation for injuries following a motor vehicle accident and (ii) a law-enforcement officer has probable cause, within three hours of the accident, to place him under arrest.

H.B. 927

Patron: Bell, Robert B.

Immediate sanction probation. Provides that as a condition of suspension of sentence pursuant to § 19.2-303, a defendant may be ordered to participate in an immediate sanction probation program. Any offender who participates in the program shall, in the event he is arrested for a violation of the conditions of his probation, (i) receive an expedited hearing before the court, (ii) not be entitled to counsel in review, and (iii) not be entitled to release on bail pending the hearing. An affidavit prepared by his probation and parole officer detailing the offense for which he was arrested may be received into evidence without the officer's testimony. The immediate sanction hearing is not authorized for new criminal offenses or absconding for more than 30 days. Such an offender would serve no more than 30 days in jail for a probation offense.

H.B. 979

Patron: Anderson

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.

H.B. 1106

Patron: Joannou

Disclosure of insurance policy limits; wrongful death action. Allows an attorney who represents the personal representative of the estate of a decedent who died as a result of a motor vehicle accident, or the personal representative of the estate of the decedent if he is not represented by counsel to request in writing that the insurer disclose the limits of liability of any motor vehicle liability or any personal injury liability insurance policy that may be applicable to the claim. The party requesting this information shall provide the insurer with (i) the date of the decedent's death, (ii) the name and last known address of the alleged tortfeasor, and (iii) death certificate of the decedent; the certificate of qualification of the personal representative of the decedent's estate; the names and relationship of the statutory beneficiaries of the decedent; medical bills; and a description of the source, amount, and payment history of the claimed income loss for each beneficiary. The bill also provides that disclosure of a policy's limits shall not constitute an admission that the alleged injury is subject to the policy.

H.B. 1195

Patron: Griffith

Impanelment of multi-jurisdiction grand jury. Provides that the impaneling order shall appoint, as the presiding judge, the judge of the circuit court requested on the application and shall designate the jurisdiction requested on the application as the jurisdiction where the multi-jurisdiction grand jury shall be convened. Currently, the application for a grand jury does not contain a request for a particular judge, and the Supreme Court appoints the judge in the jurisdiction it selects.

H.B. 1255

Patron: Iaquinto

Bail bondsman to receive criminal history information. Provides that if a judicial officer sets a secured bond and the person engages the services of a licensed bail bondsman, the magistrate executing recognizance for the accused shall provide the bondsman with a copy of the person's Virginia criminal history record, if applicable, to be used by the bondsman only to determine appropriate conditions to impose upon the accused upon his release. The bondsman may review the record on the premises only and must promptly return it to the magistrate.