2025 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Priorities
The criminal legal system harms people and communities. It criminalizes race, poverty, mental health, substance use, and disabilities. What does meaningful change look like? What policies make our system humane, just, and fair? Since 2017, when we were founded by public defenders, along with our partners, we have 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penalty, legalized marijuana, ended mandatory jury sentencing, placed unprecedented limits on pretextual policing, repealed presumptions against bail, capped supervised probation terms and jail time for technical violations, expanded record sealing to include convictions, and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 that have begun to align the state code with the values of Virginians while simultaneously enhancing public safety. We’ve spent three years protecting our hard-fought victories. We’ve traveled to every corner of the state talking with Virginians, legislators, and coalition partners and they want to invest in solutions: for justice, fairness, and the health and vitality of our commonwealth. Below is a list of our meaningful, evidence-informed legislative proposals, other legislation we support, and legislation we oppose going before lawmakers during the 2025 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Session—a smarter approach to criminal justice:
1) Prohibit Youth Shackling: (Cousins, Bagby) Virginia allows the indiscriminate shackling of youthful offenders in court, using both leg and arm shackles, regardless of the charge. Thirty-nine other states, Puerto Rico, and D.C. have banned or limited this practice. The indiscriminate shackling of children in courtroom proceedings should be prohibited. Shackling is unnecessary and inherently dehumanizing. No child should appear in court with shackles unless a judge expressly finds that there is no less restrictive means of keeping the child or the public safe. Virginia lawmakers must take immediate action to prohibit the indiscriminate shackling of children and advocate for fairness, due process rights, and our children’s well-being at all times—including while they are appearing in court.
2) Ensure Access to Record Sealing: (Herring, Surovell) Did you know that 1 in 3 Americans have a criminal record? More than 2.5 million Virginians alone. Criminal records—no matter how old or minor—can put employment, housing, education, and other basic necessities permanently out of reach. Major legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2021 and signed by Governor Northam allows people to seal their criminal convictions for the first time in Virginia. The 2021 legislation had a four-year delayed enactment—till July 1, 2025—to give state agencies the opportunity to update their record systems in preparation for the new law. The 2025 bill will make technical changes to keep the 2021 law on track. If it does not pass, access to record sealing will be delayed beyond July 1, 2025. This bill ensures access on the enactment date.
3) Protect People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD) and Mental Health Disorders—Amend 18.2-57(C): (Boysko) This minor amendment to 18.2-57 provides the possibility of an affirmative defense for individuals with mental illness or intellectual or developmental disabilities (such as autism spectrum disorder or dementia) who might assault a protected person such as a police officer or first responder. The amendment is a minor and potential opportunity for respite for those with ID/DD or mental illness where behaviors associated with the disorders may appear to be defiant but are a symptom of the disorder. Amending the statute does not prevent law enforcement officers from charging individuals who assault them, and does not apply if a protected person is seriously injured. It merely creates a slight layer of protection to our most vulnerable populations from arrest and prosecution where a disability or disorder may be the cause of disruptive behavior. Assaulting a protected person is currently punishable by up to five years in prison, with a mandatory minimum term of six months under Virginia law. The risk of acquiring this charge is great for families that may need to call first responders in the instance of a crisis. By amending the statute we improve public safety by creating a small opportunity to remove vulnerable people from our criminal justice system who do not belong there.
4) Preserve Access to Diversion: (Watts) The Virginia Supreme Court has made clear that lower courts cannot refer people charged with felonies pending in district court to behavioral health dockets. This bill would allow behavioral health dockets to address people with mental health disorders, substance use and disabilities in the appropriate court.
5) Advance Urgent Pretrial Reforms (Pretrial Justice Coalition):
Counsel at first appearance - CAFA: (Callsen, Aird) Research tells us that how quickly a person is released after arrest can have a profound impact on the outcome of their criminal case. Unfortunately, in Virginia, our pretrial system leads to people, especially poor people, being held unnecessarily for days before they can be released simply because they are not appointed a lawyer in a timely manner. By allowing and ensuring that individuals have an attorney when they first appear in front of a judge, bail can be considered immediately. And if a person is eligible for bail, they can return home, often within a day of their arrest, while the charges are pursued. Not having access to an attorney who can request bail, either because a public defender or court appointed counsel hasn’t been assigned or because of the jurisdiction’s policy, leads to additional and unnecessary time that a person–who has not been convicted–is being held in jail.
Expand research opportunities for pretrial data-VLDS: (Deeds) During the 2021 legislative session, the General Assembly passed Pretrial Data Project bills, HB 2110 and SB 1391, which require the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission (VCSC) to collect and disseminate, on an annual basis, statewide and locality-level data related to adults charged with criminal offenses punishable by confinement in jail or a term of imprisonment. Currently the Pretrial Data Project is not linked with any other data outside the pretrial legal system, such as data on defendants’ employment, housing, or education. The Virginia Longitudinal Data System (VLDS) is a protected platform for linking distinct state agency datasets for research uses by verified researchers. If authorized by legislation, the VCSC could contribute the Pretrial Data Project to the VLDS and thus could provide linked, anonymized data to researchers.
6) End Mass Surveillance: The increasing unregulated and unmonitored use of mass surveillance technology by law enforcement infringes on fundamental privacy rights and risks further exacerbating mass incarceration and racial disparities in the criminal legal system. Virginia should end mass surveillance. And if they choose not to heed calls to dismantle it, members of the General Assembly must put strict guardrails on the use of mass surveillance technology statewide, including automated license plate readers (ALPRs) by requiring a warrant for evidence obtained from ALPRs.
7) Require Electronic Discovery: (Carroll Foy) Similar to legislation that passed the General Assembly in 2024, this bill would require prosecutors to provide criminal discovery materials to the defense by electronic means, whenever possible.
8) A Deferred Dismissal Should Not Depend On Payment of Costs: (McClure) A deferred disposition allows people charged with a first-time offense to keep a conviction off their record after completing all the court’s requirements. Still, some people are convicted solely because they cannot pay court costs. A person who completes all the court's requirements except payment of costs should never keep a conviction.
9) Allow Appellate Lawyers to Challenge the Sufficiency of Evidence On Appeal When the Issue is Not Preserved at Trial: (Cousins) Unlike in some other states, Virginia's appellate courts require defense attorneys to say at trial that the evidence is insufficient for a conviction, in order for the appellate court to consider that issue on appeal. If defense counsel fails to state this objection at trial, the appellate court will not consider whether the evidence was insufficient for a conviction, absent extraordinary circumstances.
10) Ensure Prompt Court Appearances for Probation Violations-PB-15: (Callsen) Probation officers can arrest people for violations with a hold called a PB-15. This process does not require an arrest warrant or court process, which means the person may sit in jail for several weeks without a court date or a lawyer. The Virginia Department of Corrections must inform the court when they arrest someone on a PB-15 so that the court can promptly appoint counsel.
Other Legislation We Support
Voting Rights Restoration (Constitutional Amendment)
Allow people previously convicted of a felony or on bond to be released on unsecured bonds
Marijuana re-sentencing
Freeze court-appointed counsel fees for indigent defendants
Allow attorneys to record audio in Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court
Ensure incarcerated people have access to counsel
Require prosecutors to provide copies of the accused criminal history to defense counsel
Establish minimum age of 11 for charging youth with criminal offenses in Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court
End the use of restorative housing (solitary confinement) in adult facilities
End the use of restorative housing (solitary confinement) in youth facilities
Prohibit the placement of youth in adult jails and prisons
Overdose Prevention Centers (OPCs)
An equitable, regulated marijuana market
Legislation We Oppose
Repeal of prohibition of presumptions against bail
Expansion of felony murder for drug overdose deaths
Adding a definition of driving in a careless or distracted manner