Virginia Legal*Political Blog

Legislative conferees wrangled for much of the afternoon today before finally agreeing on a legislative response to Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, in that case in June that prosecutors generally must present the analyst who prepared a report unless the defendant gets notice of the prosecution’s intent to rely on the [...]

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The criminal law subcommittee of the House Courts of Justice Committee will meet Aug. 7 to discuss legislation that will be considered at the Aug. 19 special session of the General Assembly to address Melendez-Diaz v. Massachuetts. That case, decided last month, holds that laboratory analysts generally must appear in court rather than submit their findings [...]

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Prosecutors are backing bills to require a police investigation before someone could be arrested on a magistrate-issued felony warrant. The Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys backs the bill for two reasons, reports the Daily Press. First, cases with a lack of a police investigation are more likely fall apart in court. Second, it would help [...]

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Sen. Mark D. Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, made himself a lightning rod for criticism by introducing a bill that would require a woman to report her miscarriage to police with 24 hours. Obenshain explained that he introduced Senate Bill 962 in response to a situation in Harrisonburg where authorities could not locate a fetus that was thrown [...]

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