The original version of the legislation would have allowed the attorney general to seize control of certain criminal cases from local prosecutors at the request of a police chief or sheriff.
Virginia Senate committee rejects hate crime expansion bill (FILE) (Source: WVIR) By Cierra Parks | Capital News Service | February 2, 2021 at 2:58 PM EST - Updated February 2 at 5:39 PM
RICHMOND, Va. - Legislators attempted to pass a bill that would expand the definition of a hate crime to include crimes against people based on perception, but opponents said the bill was too broad and could be misused.
The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill by for the year late last month. Four Democrats strayed from party lines to vote against the bill after much debate.
The current statute defines hate crime victims as those who are maliciously targeted based on race, religion, gender, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation or ethnicity. Legislators passed the legislation last year during the General Assembly session.
Over warnings it could endanger the lives of law enforcement officers, a bill that would abolish the death penalty in Virginia advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday, largely
Virginia is the only state in the country that does not guarantee a right to appeal, allowing circuit court judges to make decisions with little oversight or scrutiny. Critics have been calling for reform ever since the Court of Appeals was first created in 1985. The Supreme Court of Virginia recommended an appeal of right as a long term goal in 2018. Now, Gov. Ralph Northam says he wants lawmakers to add four judges and support staff to ensure the court can hear more appeals cases in a timely manner under an increasing workload. The Supreme Court barely takes any cases, so the circuit courts are effectively the court of last resort, said Sen. Scott Surovell (D-36), who will be working in the Senate Judiciary Committee on the issue. That gives circuit court judges a tremendous amount of power because their decisions are rarely reviewed.