New bill seeks to clear path to clearing your record in Virginia
New bill seeks to clear path to clearing your record in Virginia By CJ Paschall | February 22, 2021 at 6:43 PM EST - Updated February 23 at 12:44 PM
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - A new bill would make the road to clearing a criminal record easier in Virginia.
As it stands, Virginians seeking to seal their records have to go through a petition-based process. The bill, H.B. 2113, would allow automatic sealing for charges that were dropped or dismissed, as well as some misdemeanor charges more than 7 years old.
It would also extend petition-based sealing of records to crimes like marijuana possession.
Lawmakers pass bills to collect data on pretrial detention (FILE) By Josephine Walker | February 19, 2021 at 3:05 PM EST - Updated February 19 at 9:41 PM
RICHMOND, Va. - The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation this week that lawmakers said will increase transparency and equity in the judicial system, which disproportionately impacts communities of color.
The bills, introduced by Senator Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, and Delegate Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, will create a centralized, publicly-accessible data collection system on pretrial detention. Senate Bill 1391 and House Bill 2110 both passed Thursday, February 18.
Pretrial detention is the practice of holding a defendant in jail until trial. It is used, officials say, to guarantee the defendant appears in court and to ensure public safety. The compiled pretrial data would be distributed annually by the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission (VCSC).
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Long deadlocked, Virginia lawmakers reach compromise to seal past criminal convictions A police officer walks into the John Marshall Courthouse in downtown Richmond. (Source: Photo by Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury) By Ned Oliver | February 18, 2021 at 12:49 PM EST - Updated February 18 at 12:49 PM
Democrats in the House and Senate have been at odds for more than a year over dueling proposals to allow people convicted of certain crimes to have their criminal records sealed.
On Wednesday, lawmakers in the two chambers announced they’d finally resolved their differences.
“We’ve come to a strong compromise that reimagines our criminal justice system to remove barriers and address systematic inequities to provide a clean slate for Virginians who have paid their debt to society,” said House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria.
Democrats in the House and Senate who had been at odds over legislation to allow criminal record expungement reached an agreement that advocates said will be a huge improvement for