JFV letter to the General Assembly expressing support for increased professional diversity on the Court of Appeals. Professional diversity is one important way to ensure that the judges of the Court of Appeals understand the intersection of the law with the lives of disadvantaged people. Unfortunately, for many years our appellate courts have suffered from a lack of diversity in many respects. Seven of the ten current judges worked as prosecutors or in the Office of the Attorney General. None of the current judges spent their careers as public defenders, legal aid lawyers, or civil rights lawyers.
Justice Forward Virginia joined We Demand Justice and over 55 other partner organizations in in calling out unfair attacks on public defenders nominated to federal judgeships and supporting efforts to increase professional diversity in our federal courts.
Thursday July 1, 2021, marks the enactment of several of Justice Forward Virginia’s priority criminal justice reforms in the Commonwealth. Our legislative policy development and statewide advocacy ended presumptions against bail, created degrees of robbery, ended the petit larceny three strikes rule, allowed evidence of mental illness to be presented at trial, created a unified pretrial data collection system, legalized marijuana, abolished the death penalty, ended the jury penalty, and reformed a truly broken probation system in Virginia.
Amidst a historic civil rights movement focused on criminal justice reform, we need to know which candidates support the movement & which will allow it to stagnate. Here are the questions we'd like answered from Terry McCauliffe, Jennifer Carroll Foy, Jennifer McClellan, Justin Fairfax, and Lee J. Carter.
We are half way through the 2021 legislative session, and the House and Senate have passed two very different bills. Find out about what’s in each and why Justice Forward Virginia strongly supports the Senate bill. HINT: It gets rid of almost ALL mandatory minimums.
In Virginia there is a rule that prohibits introducing evidence of mental illness in criminal cases unless the Accused pleads Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (“NGRI”). As a result, the jury is not made aware of mitigating evidence that would allow for a fair trial and appropriate resolution. Currently an important bill is being considered that will change this rule and make the criminal legal system more fair for individuals who suffer from mental illness.
Still have questions about police reform as we approach the special legislative session? Tune in on August 12 from 6:30-8:00pm when we're bringing back some of the most popular guests from our "Get Informed About Police Reform" explainer series!
Thankfully, Virginia lawmakers have a second chance in 2020 to make good on campaign promises to make meaningful changes to our criminal justice system. Leaders of both chambers of the General Assembly have confirmed that fundamental reforms simply cannot wait.
