Virginia's Criminal Subcommittee advanced eight bills, including contested measures on cyberstalking, deferred criminal dispositions, expungement cleanup, and healthcare facility access restrictions. The most contentious bill — SB 137, creating criminal penalties for obstructing clinic entrances — passed 7-3 after a substitute based on the federal FACE Act replaced the introduced version, while SB 764, restoring judicial power to defer dispositions without Commonwealth's attorney consent, passed unanimously despite sharp opposition from prosecutors.
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Nate Green (Virginia Association of Commonwealth Attorneys) argued the bill is 'without question one of the largest shifts where you are giving up your legislative power to decide what happens in criminal cases and handing it to the judicial branch,' warning it could apply to repeat domestic assault and child sexual assault with no guardrails. Senator Stanley responded that he has never encountered a judge as 'hypothetically described by the commonwealth's attorneys' and argued the General Assembly retains accountability through judicial reappointment. Courtney Schwartz (Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Lines) separately argued that without Commonwealth agreement, 'victims would essentially not have a voice' and that the existing guardrail at 18.2-57.3 'could be ignored by a judge.'
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“This is without question one of the largest shifts where you are giving up your legislative power to decide what happens in criminal cases and handing it to the judicial branch. If you think that a mandatory minimum is appropriate, then you pass it. If the judge doesn't like that mandatory minimum, he can ignore it.”
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Sign in to subscribeMembers, take your seat, please. Clerk, please open the roll. Please indicate your presence. Okay, we have a. Excuse me, A quorum. The meeting of House Krimsub of the House Courts Committee will come to order. I just. As we go through the agenda, I just want to indicate the following order. I see that Senator Mulcai was here first, I believe, is that correct? And so then it would be the two bills by Senator Deeds, 7148 04. And then if Senator Stanley comes, we will be taking up his bill. And three. Excuse me, Senate Bill 137, Pekarski and 230 sorvel will be taken up last because both. In both cases, they have indicated that we are to go forward without them in the room. So I don't want to hold up the senators who are here as patrons. So with that, then, our first bill to hear this afternoon is Senate Bill 673. Thank you, madam Chairman. Members of the subcommittee, I have before you Senate Bill 673, a bill to better address the reality of stalking in the Virginia code. Virginia law does a reasonable job protecting people from stalkers who physically follow them, show up…
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