All of the commonwealth’s attorneys in Northern Virginia lent their firepower Monday to a Democratic effort to overhaul criminal justice and police reform. In a virtual conference, the top prosecutors in the city of Alexandria and Loudoun, Fairfax, Arlington, and Prince William counties joined six of their counterparts across the state to support changes that include scrapping mandatory minimum sentencing, tightening restrictions on no-knock warrants, and increasing police accountability in the courtroom.

“We’re not trying to be light on crime as some people are trying to say, but we’re actually trying to figure out what is the harm that our system is causing to our citizenry,” said Loudoun County CA Buta Biberaj.

The 11 prosecutors who spoke Monday claimed they represent more than 40% of Virginia’s population demanding transformative change, although they are only a fraction of the 120 commonwealth’s attorneys in Virginia.

Their suggestions were based on a letter they signed earlier this month offering help in making “these most needed changes that will directly and positively impact the communities in which we are honored and privileged to serve each and every day.”

The prosecutors weighed in as lawmakers prepare for an Aug. 18 special legislative session that will include policing and criminal justice reform, as well as an assessment of the economic impact of the pandemic. Democrats have vowed to push forward with a broad package of proposals, based in part on recommendations from the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus.

“Having the Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ support I think is a big help because it provides validation that people on both sides of the criminal justice system see there are flaws,” said state Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), vice chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

In their note, the prosecutors said they support changes including requiring police to grant prosecutors unrestricted access to the disciplinary records of officers involved in a matter before the court.

They also advocated for requiring a judge to approve no-knock warrants that allow officers to enter a home unannounced. Currently, Virginia requires only a magistrate. Louisville, Kentucky, banned all no-knock warrants after police there used one to enter the home of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, who they shot and killed.

These suggestions do not go as far as Democrats have proposed; the party’s Senate caucus proposed banning no-knock warrants as well as chokeholds.

Police are likely to push back on both the lawmakers’ and the prosecutors’ suggestions. For example, police would prefer to answer specific requests from prosecutors, rather than grant wholesale access, said Ashland Police Chief Doug Goodman, a Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police board member. Further, Goodman told DCist/WAMU that raising the requirements for no-knock warrants could compromise urgent police action.

“What if we need to intervene in a possible narcotics transaction that is dynamic and it might be fleeting, and a judge is not available?” Goodman said.

He said the VACP published its own suggestions for police reform and could see some common purposes, such as clarifying the protocol for decertifying officers. Other VACP suggestions include increasing funding for police accreditation and mental health services.

In the area of criminal justice, the self-styled Virginia Progressive Prosecutors for Justice group suggested opening a path for record expungement, eliminating a mandatory six-month suspension of drivers’ licenses for drug convictions, and doing away with mandatory minimum sentencing.

“Too often in our system, mandatory minimums are used as a tool to kind of force defendants into taking a plea and not taking the risk of going to trial, where there is a minimum mandatory that could be imposed,” said Amy Ashworth, commonwealth’s attorney for Prince William County and the city of Manassas.

The group representing Virginia’s commonwealth’s attorneys has not issued recommendations on criminal justice reform ahead of the summer session. The Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys issued a statement condemning the May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and said, “We must redouble our efforts to apply the law fairly to all people, to root out implicit and explicit bias in our ranks, and to use our positions as community leaders to rebuild trust and also build trust that has never existed before.”

VACA President Jeff Haislip, who is also the commonwealth’s attorney for Fluvanna County, said he was waiting to see bills before commenting on particular recommendations. 

Democratic lawmakers are gathering public feedback ahead of next month’s session. On Wednesday, the House of Delegates held the first of three public hearings on police and criminal justice reform. The next will be on July 29 and will cover police training; the public can stream the meeting here.

VPPFJ – July 13 2020 by wamu885 on Scribd