Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers |
COVID-19 COURT UPDATE: ORDER DELCARING JUDICIAL EMERGENCY from the Supreme Court of Virginia: SCV Declaration of Judicial Emergency COVID-19 3-16-2020 Order.pdf----full text [excerpt] "This Order shall be in effect from today, Monday, March 16, to Monday, April 6, 2020, and it is hereby ORDERED that NON-ESSENTIAL, NON-EMERGENCY court proceedings in all circuit and district courts be and hereby are SUSPENDED and all deadlines are hereby tolled and extended, pursuant to Va. Code § 17.1-330(D), for a period of twenty-one (21) days, and all circuit and district courts shall implement the following measures absent a specific exception as listed below: 1. Continue all civil, traffic and criminal matters, including jury trials, subject to a defendant’s right to a speedy trial, with the exception of emergency matters, including but not limited to, quarantine or isolation matters, arraignments, bail reviews, protective order cases, emergency child custody or protection cases, and civil commitment hearings. Judges may exercise their discretion with regard to proceeding with ongoing jury trials, and in cases where the defendant is incarcerated. There is a lot of discussion on the VACDL List Serv regarding the COVID-19 closures and how your cases and clients are being affected. If you are a VACDL member and have not subscribed to the List Serv, please contact Executive Director Danielle Payne at vacdlawyers@gmail.com for List Serv access information. http://www.courts.state.va.us/news/items/covid_19.pdf Western District of VA- Standing Order Court Operations 2020-5 031620.pdf HAPPY HOUR AT POSTBELLUM in Richmond May 21st starting at 5:30 p.m. VACDL is co-sponsoring a happy hour with the Richmond Criminal Bar, so stop by and enjoy a little social time with your criminal law colleagues! 
LexisNexis has partnered with VACDL on the production of Virginia Criminal Laws Annotated, an "essential reference for criminal law practitioners with comprehensive coverage of Virginia criminal laws and procedure." VACDL had input into the content and design, and will continue to be involved in production in coming years. It is available for purchase as a large softbound volume or as an ebook, for the great price of $79. As an extra benefit of your membership, VACDL members in good standing receive an additional 25% discount on the regular price!* BUY YOUR COPY TODAY! To save 25% on Virginia Criminal Laws Annotated, please reference or enter promotion code: VACDL2020 Visit the LexisNexis® Store at http://www.lexisnexis.com/VACDL2020 or call 800.533.1637 to speak with a LexisNexis® account representative. *Offer expires December 31, 2020. Offer applies to new orders only. Price current as of December 2019. Prices are before shipping and taxes are calculated, shipped to a U.S. address only. Prices are subject to change without notice. LexisNexis® eBook, CD, DVD and downloadable product sales are final and not returnable. Current subscriptions, future renewals or updates and certain products are excluded from this offer. Sales to federal government customers may be subject to specific contract pricing. Discounts may be available to customers who subscribe to both online and print publications, subject to your employer’s policy. Other restrictions may apply. Void where prohibited. See www.lexisnexis.com/terms4. JFV/NACDL/VACDL Lobby DayOn January 17, 2020, Justice Forward Virginia, NACDL and VACDL hosted our 3rd Annual Lobby Day: Defenders' Day of Action. It was an amazing event, with nearly 100 justice reform advocates in attendance. Our groups met with or delivered information packets to every Virginia legislator, in both the House of Delegates and the Senate. The legislative session has only just recently begun so our work is not done! Our friends at Justice Forward Virginia have put together a comprehensive list of the criminal justice legislative priorities, which can be found here: Justice Reform Legislative Priorities 2020 If you aren't familiar with Justice Forward Virginia or what they have on their "to do list", please click the link below:
If you are a full-time Virginia Public Defender, make sure to take advantage of your VIDC group rate VACDL membership! Joining VACDL is super easy online [just click the "Sign up" button on this page!], and once your application has been approved by the VACDL Executive Director (she will confirm your employment with the VIDC), you can be added to the VACDL List Serv. We value your point of view and experience, so join today!
We welcome these new and returning Directors to the VACDL Board of Directors: Alan Polsky, District 1 Lauren Whitley, District 4 Richard Johnson, District 7 Douglas Ramseur, At-Large Seat #2 David B. Hargett, At-Large Seat #3 And congratulations to H. Eugene Oliver, III who will serve VACDL as President-Elect in 2020/President in 2021!
Hugh E. "Teddy" Black, III David M. Lee Matt C. Pinsker
Upcoming events
 *UPDATE: On January 29, 2019, the Supreme Court of Virginia entered an Order to delay implementation of the new Discovery rules until July 1, 2020. While the Court reiterates that "reform of the criminal discovery rules is long overdue," they desire to coordinate and cooperate with the other branches of government. The letter from Chief Justice Lemons is found below: SCV Delays Discovery Rules Implementation On September 5, 2018, the Supreme Court of Virginia approved new rules regarding criminal discovery. After many years of work by VACDL members and our allies advocating for reform, a new playing field will emerge when these rules go into effect. To read the letter from Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons and the new rules, click below: Blog posts
 "I'm a very strong believer in listening and learning from others." -Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
| CLEVACDL's SPRING SEMINAR IS CANCELLED for 2020 After monitoring the COVID-19 situation, it is clear that our April 17th program in Arlington cannot proceed as planned. Given the uncertainty as to the length of time that social distancing and limitations on groups larger than 10 persons will be required, VACDL has opted to cancel our Spring Seminar and try to move as many of our planned presentations to the Fall CLE in Virginia Beach as we can. We plan to try to host the Spring 2021 event in Arlington, utilizing the same venues, and will release the 2021 dates as soon as practicable. We will miss seeing our VACDL members in April, but are now more excited than ever for the Annual Meeting in September! ________________________________________ If you were unable to attend our Fall CLE "Conquering the Mountains: New Paths to Win Your Case" but you'd like the substantial materials from the program, extra copies are available for $30 (bound booklet and electronic file included). Please email VACDL'S ED at vacdlawyers@gmail.com to request a copy! DUES DUES RENEWAL INVOICES ARE ARRIVING IN EMAIL INBOXES NOW! If you recently joined VACDL, you will NOT receive an invoice as your dues are paid through March 2021. If you've never been a VACDL member (or you'd like to come back!) start your 2020 off on the right foot by joining the only voluntary Virginia bar organization exclusively focused on criminal defense! SAVE THE DATE: Sept. 18, 2020 for VACDL's Annual Meeting and Fall CLE at the Mariott Oceanfront Hotel in Virginia Beach! SponsorsVACDL endorses the following sponsors and partners: .jpg)
Registration is through the VIDC, and there is no cost. August 3-4, 2020 November 2-3, 2020 The VIDC website (vadefenders.org) provides an overview of the court-appointed counsel certification process. We encourage all VACDL members to become certified to take court-appointed cases, and we offer a mentorship program to assist with the trial requirements for felony case certification. 1604 Santa Rosa Road, Suite 200 Richmond, VA 23229
We support the efforts to reform discovery rules in Virginia to ensure just and fair trials for all accused of criminal offenses. If you'd also like to support this initiative, click on the link below: | Not a VACDL member?VACDL List Serv*Exciting news! We have created a brand new, more user-friendly, list serv hosted by Gaggle.email! If you are a VACDL member in good standing, you should have already received a link in December granting you access to register your email address with the new List Serv. New (or formerly lapsed) VACDL members will receive the access link upon approval of their membership applications. Please contact Executive Director Danielle Payne at vacdlawyers@gmail.com with any questions!*
VACDL Newsletter
Each quarter, VACDL sends a newsletter, The Virginia Champion, to active members. Recent past editions are available in the Member's Only Section.
*Members can now choose electronic or mailed delivery for The Virginia Champion. In your Member Profile, click "Edit Profile" and select your preferred delivery option!*
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