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.
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.
Get the 2021 Legislative Lowdown straight from some our favorite lawmakers. Join Justice Forward Virginia, Senator Jennifer McClellan, Delegate Nancy Guy, and Delegate Jeff Bourne—Monday March 22nd, 2021 at 8PM on Facebook Live.
VIRGINIA POLL: By a +43 point margin, Virginia voters across party lines strongly support allowing Virginia judges and juries to consider evidence about a defendant's mental state and mental illnesses in criminal trials.
On February 9, 2021, Justice Forward Virginia, along with 24 other organizations, sent a letter to Governor of Virginia Ralph Northam and Virginia lawmakers, laying out five criteria for marijuana legalization that will center racial equity and the people and communities most impacted by decades of the War on Drugs.
Justice Forward joined with FAMM, ACLU of Virginia, Americans for Prosperity Virginia, Humanization Project, Interfaith Action for Human Rights, and the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance in signing a letter to House of Delegates leadership urging the House of Delegates to follow the state crime commission's recommendation and repeal all mandatory minimum sentences.
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.
But people who repeatedly commit Petit Larceny offenses are not thieves looking to get ahead, nor are they master criminals. They are often from Virginia’s most vulnerable communities. They suffer from mental illness, have substance use disorders, and are often homeless. Subjecting people like these to felony penalties is, in many cases, pointlessly cruel. We should be aiming to make our criminal laws more just and rational, and eliminating this enhancement would be a step in the right direction.
The death penalty is a failure - racially, penologically, financially, and morally. The federal government’s recent killing spree over the last few months was a horrifying reminder that any power we give the government is subject to abuse. It is time for Virginia to give up the power to kill its own people.
Although probation was originally intended to help people successfully transition from incarceration to the community, it has often served as a no-win situation that ensures their failure, and return to prison, is a burden on an already broken system, and fails to serve as the crutch for re-entry as it was “intended”. Probation is a set up for failure—lengthy supervision, onerous restrictions, constant scrutiny.
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.
Virginia law currently allows a defendant to request a modification of their sentence at any time, as long as they are being held within a local detention facility. The very moment an individual is transported from a local jail to a state prison, however, they are completely stripped of their right to request a reconsideration. As a result, an individual’s life can be forever altered, simply due to an arbitrary rule within Virginia’s code.
Sign the Petition! Virginia has over 200 mandatory minimum sentences that require judges to impose prison terms without considering the circumstances of each case or the needs or role of each person. This one-size-fits-all sentencing scheme is unjust and does not increase public safety. Virginia needs to get rid of its mandatory sentences.
We made it through the 2020 Special Session and have lots to celebrate. Find out what happened with Justice Forward’s priority legislation: Jury Sentencing, Pretextual Policing, Earned Sentence Credits, Expungement Reform, and Assault on Law Enforcement Officers.
The primary purpose of The Virginia Redemption Project is to match currently incarcerated individuals with pro bono lawyers to assist them in completing their clemency petitions. Having counsel through the clemency process greatly increases the chances of success, and the joint effort hopes to ensure that those who are most at risk of illness from COVID-19 and who cannot afford a lawyer have access to meaningful review.
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!
While many are calling for their increased use, the promise of body worn cameras is turning out to be overstated. Evidence shows that body worn cameras don’t significantly change police behavior or reduce use of force by police. Instead, the benefit of BWCs is that they provide documentation after the fact, rather than changing police behavior or reducing racial disparities in policing.
Originally touted as a tool to deter serious crime and eliminate sentencing disparities, mandatory minimum sentences have had no measurable impact on deterrence and have coincided with the mass incarceration of African American citizens.
A misdemeanor is a criminal offense punishable in Virginia by a fine up to $2500 or jail time up to 12 months. Despite being minor offenses, misdemeanors have impacts on the lives of the individuals charged far greater than the charge implies. From remaining in jail while awaiting trial if bail can’t be procured or accepting a plea just to get out of jail, just the accusation of a misdemeanor can turn a defendant’s life upside down. This is followed by a criminal record that lasts a lifetime (expungement is not allowed) and can prevent a person from getting jobs and housing as well as increase the likelihood of being arrested again.
