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2010 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Courts of Justice
Subcommittee Criminal

Reynolds (Chairman), Norment, Howell, McDougle, Hurt, Deeds, McEachin

Clerk: Angi Murphy
Date of Meeting: February 1, 2010
Time and Place: 4:00 p.m., Senate Room A

S.B. 208

Patron: Barker

Family or household member; definition.  Includes within the definition of a person's "family or household member" any individual who is currently or was formerly involved in a substantive, intimate dating relationship with the person; the existence of such a substantive relationship shall be determined based on (i) the length of the relationship, (ii) the nature of the relationship, and (iii) the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship. A casual relationship or ordinary fraternization in a business or social context does not constitute a dating relationship. Expanding the definition of "family or household member" implicates crimes for which a family or household member is a victim (e.g., assault and battery against a family member) and protective orders under which a person may be protected (e.g., protective orders in cases of family abuse).

S.B. 444

Patron: Reynolds

Destruction of live marijuana plants. Provides that where a seizure of more than 10 suspected live marijuana plants is made in connection with any drug prosecution or investigation, the appropriate law-enforcement agency may retain 10 of the seized plants and destroy the remainder by direction of the chief law-enforcement officer or his designee, without a court order, when: it is not reasonably possible to preserve all of the plants in place or to remove the plants to another location; random and representative samples of the plants to be destroyed are retained for evidentiary purposes; and photographs or video recordings are taken to record the total amount of the suspected marijuana plants seized.

S.B. 446

Patron: Quayle

Penalty for certain crimes against adults 60 years of age or older.  Increases criminal penalties when the victim of the offense is 60 years of age or older and the offender knows or reasonably should know the victim of the offense is 60 years of age or older, as follows: Any person who commits a grand larceny shall be punished by a term of imprisonment of not less than two nor more than 20 years. Any person who obtains money by false pretenses is guilty of a Class 3 felony. Any person who signs another's name to a writing is guilty of a Class 4 felony. Any person who commits an identity theft resulting in financial loss of greater than $200 is guilty of a Class 5 felony. Any person who commits a second or subsequent offense pursuant to § 18.2-213.2 shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of two years, in addition to the punishment provided for such offense.

S.B. 490

Patron: Hurt

Bail terms set by court on a capias to be honored by magistrate. Provides that a magistrate who is to set the terms of bail of a person arrested and brought before him on a capias shall do so in accordance with the order of the court that issued the capias, if the court so orders.

S.B. 492

Patron: Hurt

Foreign search warrants to be honored. Provides that a Virginia corporation or other entity that provides electronic communication services or remote computing services to the general public, when properly served with a warrant and affidavit in support of the warrant, issued by a judicial officer or court of another state with jurisdiction over the matter, to produce a record or other information pertaining to a subscriber to or customer of such service or the contents of electronic communications, or both, shall produce the record or other information as if that warrant had been issued by a Virginia court.

S.B. 493

Patron: Hurt

Records concerning electronic communication service or remote computing service.  Provides that a foreign corporation that provides electronic communication service or remote computing service shall disclose a record or other information pertaining to a subscriber to or customer of such service, excluding the contents of electronic communications, to an investigative or law-enforcement officer pursuant to (1) a search warrant issued by a magistrate, general district court or a circuit court; (2) a court order for such disclosure issued as provided in this section; or (3) the consent of the subscriber or customer to such disclosure.

S.B. 494

Patron: Hurt

Admissibility of records concerning electronic communication service or remote computing service.  Provides that records of a provider of electronic communication service or remote computing service that pertain to a subscriber to or customer of such service are prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated if, at any trial or hearing, such records are accompanied by an affidavit made by the records' custodian affirming that the provider regularly prepares and relies upon such records in the transaction of its business.

S.B. 504

Patron: Smith

Forced or coerced abortion prohibited; penalty.  Provides that any person who forces or coerces a pregnant female of any age to have an abortion against her will is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. However, if such a violation is committed by the father or putative father of the unborn child when the pregnant female is less than 18 years of age and the father or putative father is 18 years of age or older, the father or putative father is guilty of a Class 6 felony.

S.B. 556

Patron: Herring

Crimes against incapacitated or elder adults; penalty. Provides that any person who commits an offense set forth in Chapter 4 (crimes against the person), Chapter 5 (crimes against property), or Chapter 6 (crimes involving fraud) of Title 18.2, knowing or having reason to know that the victim of the offense is an incapacitated or elder adult is guilty of a separate and distinct Class 1 misdemeanor if the underlying offense is a misdemeanor and a separate and distinct Class 6 felony if the underlying offense is a felony. The bill adds that if the offender is a person responsible for the care of the victim, punishment for a misdemeanor shall include a mandatory minimum term of confinement of 30 days, and punishment for a felony shall include a mandatory minimum term of confinement of six months.

S.B. 586

Patron: Marsden

Crimes by juveniles; notice given to schools; exclude Class 3 and 4 misdemeanors.  Provides that if a petition is filed by an intake officer alleging a juvenile has committed an act that would be a crime if committed by an adult, a report of such petition need not be filed with the superintendent of the school division where the juvenile attends school if the crime would be a Class 3 or Class 4 misdemeanor if committed by an adult.

S.B. 602

Patrons: Newman, Hurt

Human infant; independent and separate existence. Provides that for the purposes of homicide and child abuse the determination of an independent and separate existence of a human infant from its mother shall not be conditioned solely upon whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta detached.

S.B. 615

Patron: Howell

Conditions of sentence suspension, etc.; credits toward reducing length of probation.  Requires the Department of Corrections to develop a supervision plan for every offender placed on supervised probation and allows for credits to be applied toward reducing the offender's time on supervised probation by as much as one-half based on the achievement of goals established by the Department. The application of credits is to be determined by the chief probation and parole officer and does not require court action.

S.B. 617

Patron: Howell

Criminal procedure; sentencing revocation report worksheets. Requires sentencing revocation report worksheets in all probation revocation and sentence suspension revocation cases in which the defendant was under the direct supervision of the probation and parole district office.

S.B. 670

Patron: McDougle

Payment of fines and costs.  Requires a person owing fines and costs for a traffic or criminal case who is incarcerated and participates in a correctional facility work program to contribute part of his pay to the fines and costs. Currently this provision applies only to defendants who are on work release, home/electronic incarceration, or nonconsecutive days program.

S.B. 679

Patron: Hanger

Restorative justice programs.  Establishes a restorative justice program for offenders and victims. Provisions address participation, court involvement, confidentiality, and immunity from civil liability.

S.B. 688

Patron: Reynolds

Arrest without warrant; DUI arrests. Expands the DUI crimes for which an officer may arrest a person without a warrant. The bill removes the requirement that an arrest for DUI be made within three hours of an accident and 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.