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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
Staff: J. French, M. Felch, K. Stokes
Date of Meeting: March 1, 2010
Time and Place: 4:00 p.m., Senate Room A

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. 500

Patron: Gilbert

Admissibility of certificates of analysis at preliminary hearing; at trial.  Provides that at any preliminary hearing, certificates of analysis and reports prepared by lab analysts, etc., shall be admissible without the testimony of the person preparing such certificate or report. The bill also provides that when such an analyst appears in court on the day of trial to testify, the certificate of analysis shall be admissible (over procedural objection) The bill also provides that if the defendant demands the testimony of an analyst, and is convicted, he shall pay $50 in travel costs as court costs.

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. 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. 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. 912

Patron: Bell, Robert B.

Definition of residence for the purposes of the sex offender registry.  Provides that "residence" means, for any sex offender who declares himself homeless and has no legal residence, any location designated by him, which can be located with reasonable specificity, where he spends the night.

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. 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. 1198

Patron: Iaquinto

Sex offenders; registration requirements; collateral proof of conditions requiring registration; verification of residency and notice to offenders committed to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; notice of escape from commitment or escape from jail.  The bill also provides that offenses for which a condition of registration is that the offense was committed against a minor, a physically helpless person or a mentally incapacitated person, the additional condition need not be alleged and proven at trial but may be adjudicated in a subsequent or collateral civil proceeding. The bill also provides that the residency of those offenders under the supervision of the Department of Corrections or Community Supervision pursuant to § 37.2-919 (persons committed to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services whether on conditional release or in involuntary secure inpatient treatment) shall be verified by the State Police. The bill also provides that the Department shall give notice to a sex offender committed to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, prior to his release, of his requirement to register with the State Police as a sex offender; and that the Department shall give notice to the State Police within 12 hours if such an offender escapes from custody. The bill also provides that if a sex offender escapes from a jail, the jailer shall notify the State Police within 12 hours of the escape.

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.