With the legislative session at a close and a special session scheduled to address the budget, we now know the outcome of all Justice Forward Virginia’s 2024 Legislative Priorities and present three major criminal justice reform takeaways from this session:
Read More“I can never call the police for aid when my 30-year-old son is in crisis,“ Teresa Champion says. Champion’s son is autistic, and has a spitting tic he cannot control. Like many caregivers of loved ones with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), mental illness, and neurocognitive disorders, Champion knows a Virginia statute criminalizes behaviors common to her loved one’s diagnosis.
Read MoreIn annual tradition, we’re hosting our Justice Reform “Prep Rally”—to educate and mobilize advocates for action–ahead of the 2024 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Session. Our Executive Director, Rob Poggenklass, will host many of our Justice Forward Virginia policy experts live on Facebook–Thursday, January 4th from 6:30—7:30pm to discuss this year’s legislative priorities.
Read MoreOver the past few years, Virginia emerged from the Stone Ages of criminal justice as a result of smart, contemporary, humane, evidence-informed legislation that promotes public safety while minimizing harm to vulnerable people and communities. Although the politics of crime have stymied further progress to some extent, the fact is the reforms Virginia passed since 2020 are popular—largely because they’re working.
Read MoreWe’re excited to be hosting our Justice Reform Lobby Day in Richmond, Virginia on Thursday, January 11, 2024, along with the Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (VACDL) and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)! Please pre-register by Friday December 29, 2023. Please read more to link to the registration page.
Read MoreOn October 7, 2023, the People’s Tribunal, a group of incarcerated people, returning citizens, loved ones and allies, convened at the Richmond Convention Center under a single unifying premise: that each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done. The idea that basic human dignity cannot be forfeited has long been ignored in Virginia’s criminal legal system, especially its prisons, where human rights are routinely violated. For too long, this mistreatment has been ignored or shrugged off by those in Virginia with the power to address it.
Read MorePretextual policing is the main reason Black Americans are so much more likely than white Americans to be subjected to encounters with law enforcement. In Virginia, Black motorists are nearly two times more likely than white drivers to be stopped on the roadways, and nearly three times more likely to be searched. These encounters are also the common thread between so many tragic instances of the police killing Black drivers: Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Samuel Dubose, Daunte Wright, and many others all were killed at the hands of police after an encounter that began with a “pretextual hunch.”
Read MoreJustice Forward Virginia is seeking to add a new member to its Board of Directors. By-laws adopted in 2022 require the organization to make good faith and reasonable efforts to ensure the board is equipped to fulfill its purpose of transformative change within the criminal legal system, by including historically marginalized and directly impacted people, as well as individuals who are on the front-lines of reform but often excluded from policymaking, such as public defenders and other social justice advocates. In addition, current needs of our expanding and professionalizing organization require increased capacity to better navigate the complexities of nonprofit governance.
Read MoreOur movement to reform Virginia’s criminal legal system is entering unchartered territory. After decades of being told “no” by members of both political parties, advocates for criminal justice reform in Virginia achieved remarkable victories in 2020 and 2021. Together, we abolished the death penalty, legalized marijuana, ended mandatory jury sentencing, placed unprecedented limits on pretextual policing, repealed presumptions against bail, capped supervised probation terms and jail time for technical violations, expanded record sealing to include convictions, and enacted scores of other much-needed reforms.
Read MoreThe Self portrait Project traveled from New York City to collaborate with Justice Forward Virginia on July 22, 2023. The “photo booth” installation was part of the annual Women’s Summit–a three day event that brings together grassroots activists, organizations, elected officials, and candidates. Created by National Geographic Traveler award-winning photographer Andy Lin, the Self-Portrait Project is a system and method for self-representation using a patented two-way mirror, camera, and remote control–the Project itself is an exploration of shared humanity.
Nolef Turns, Justice Forward Virginia, the Richmond Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney, and the Richmond Public Law Library present an informational workshop on Expungement in Virginia. Learn about updates to the law, taking effect July 1 of 2023, and updates that will come in 2025.
Read MoreOn Friday June 16, 2023 at 6:00 PM EDT, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers, advocates, and impacted people will come together at New River Community College in Richardson Auditorium in Rooker Hall–5251 State Rd 373, Dublin, Virginia–to discuss public safety and how Virginia’s criminal legal system is impacting Southwest Virginia communities and families. The event is sponsored by several Virginia organizations, American for Prosperity Virginia, Justice Forward Virginia, and SALT(Social Action Linking Together).
Read MoreVirginia made historic strides toward reforming our criminal legal system in 2020 and 2021, but there is still much to do. In 2022 and 2023, we have protected that progress. We want to know from legislative candidates what they will do in 2024 and beyond to keep pushing to reduce the harms caused by Virginia’s criminal legal system.
Read MoreOvercharging is common nationwide as a tool of coercion. This is generally known as the “trial penalty” or “trial tax”: the ability of prosecutors to make the risk of losing at trial so great, with punishment so harsh, that any rational person would plead guilty—even those who are innocent.
In Virginia, however, overcharging is even more problematic because of how it is incentivized by the state. The “funding formula” for prosecutors in Virginia relies mainly on the number of felonies they indict and the number of felony sentences they obtain.
Read MoreIn April, legislators returned to Richmond for the one-day reconvened session, to address the governor’s recommended changes to and vetoes of legislation. Except for the budget, which likely won’t be finalized until after the June 20 legislative primaries, we can now summarize what the General Assembly accomplished in 2023 in criminal law. The new laws, which take effect July 1 unless otherwise noted, fall into seven categories…
Read MoreWe encourage you to protect the lives, liberty, and interests of the people you represent, not the predatory private companies whose technology invades our private lives and pushes Virginia further into a police state. We call on you to strongly oppose SB 1165 and HB 1437. There is still time to stop this disturbing, unnecessary proposal.
Read MoreJoin Justice Forward Virginia, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers on February 8, 2023 in Richmond, Virginia. We're excited to be back together and gathering in person in Richmond this year. We’ll be speaking with legislators about preserving evidence-informed criminal justice reforms that eliminated presumptions against bail, reformed our probation system, and limited pretextual policing, among other priorities.
Read MoreI have remained committed to one vision: ending the structural racism and classism that forms the foundation of Virginia’s criminal legal system. I’m honored to take the reins at Justice Forward Virginia.
Read MoreThe Virginia General Assembly General Session is upon us. And in the annual tradition, Justice Forward Virginia is hosting its Justice Reform “Prep Rally”—to educate and mobilize advocates for action. We’re excited to have Delegate Jay Jones and Senator Jennifer Boysko join our policy experts, Rob Poggenklass and Brad Haywood on Facebook LIVE–Wednesday, January 18th at 8:00 pm
Read MoreVirginia voters have experienced the positive impacts of criminal justice reforms and they are ready to see public safety funding be spent proactively on strengthening their communities rather than incarcerating even more residents. Virginia-based advocates Sheba Williams, Executive Director of Nolef Turns, Brad Haywood, Arlington County and City of Falls Church Chief Public Defender, Rob Poggenklass, Executive Director of Justice Forward Virginia, and Valerie Slater, Executive Director of RISE for Youth agree that evidence-informed criminal justice reforms keep communities safe.
Read More
