Posts in Sentencing
Reforming Jury Sentencing – Reducing Virginia’s Trial Penalty

Virginia’s current law allows prosecutors to force a defendant into a jury trial, which means a jury sentence, if convicted. Sentencing ranges often require juries to give a minimum sentence that don’t apply to judges and juries are not allowed to be told about or recommend alternatives to incarceration, such as probation, drug or mental health treatment, or community service. A simple change that allows defendants to choose sentencing by a judge is one step toward a more fair system.

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Assaults on Law Enforcement - How Mandatory Minimums and Felony Punishments Empower Police Abuse

Virginia’s Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer statute makes what is often a minor offense a felony and has a mandatory minimum sentence of 6 months in jail. This statute’s elevated punishment structure has other troubling effects on the criminal justice system: (1) It gives the police officer extraordinary power to punish those who insult or otherwise defy them, including people of color who are victims of excessive force, and (2) It intimidates the accused into taking plea offers in cases where the accused would prefer to take the case to trial.

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