SB 511 — Writ of actual innocence; petition by convicted person.
Last action — Approved by Governor-Chapter 994 (effective 7/1/20)
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✓Introduced
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✓In Committee
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✓Passed Senate
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✓Passed House of Delegates
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✓To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 07, 2020. Enacted.
Prognosis
Where this bill stands today.
Odds of enactment
HighHow often bills like it became law.
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Enacted
Current position in the legislative process.
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1 sponsor
1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.
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Cleared a recorded vote
Passed 9 recorded votes so far.
Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.
Summary
Petition for writ of actual innocence. Provides that a person who was convicted of a felony or who was adjudicated delinquent by a circuit court of an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult may petition for a writ of actual innocence based on biological evidence or nonbiological evidence regardless of the type of plea he entered at trial. Under current law, such person may petition for a writ based on biological evidence if he entered a plea of not guilty, and any person, regardless of the type of plea he entered at trial, may petition for such writ if he is sentenced to death or convicted or adjudicated delinquent of murder or a felony for which the maximum punishment is imprisonment for life. The bill also (i) allows a writ of actual innocence based on nonbiological evidence to be granted if scientific testing of previously untested evidence, regardless of whether such evidence was available or known at the time of conviction, proves that no trier of fact would have found proof of guilt of the person petitioning for the writ, provided that the testing procedure was not available at the time of conviction, and (ii) eliminates the provision that limits a petitioner to only one writ of actual innocence based on nonbiological evidence for any conviction. The bill provides that the petitioner must prove the allegations supporting either type of writ of actual innocence by a preponderance of the evidence. Currently, the petitioner must prove such allegations by clear and convincing evidence. Finally, the bill clarifies that the Attorney General may join a petition for a writ of actual innocence filed in connection with an adjudication of delinquency. This bill is identical to HB 974.
Bill Text
What changed in the latest version
52 added · 41 removedPlain-language change summary
The recent amendment to Bill SB 511 introduces a clearer process for individuals seeking a writ of actual innocence in Virginia. It adds specific provisions on how petitioners must serve documents to the relevant legal representatives and outlines the Attorney General's timeline for responding. These changes aim to ensure transparency and accountability in the petition process, making it easier for those wrongfully convicted to seek justice. This is important because it enhances the chances for innocent individuals to have their cases reconsidered effectively.
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SESSION history | hilite | pdf | print version VIRGINIA ACTS OF ASSEMBLY -- CHAPTER 994 An Act to amend and reenact §§ 19.2-327.2, 19.2-327.2:1, 19.2-327.3, 19.2-327.5, 19.2-327.10, 19.2-327.10:1, 19.2-327.11, and 19.2-327.13 of the Code of Virginia, relating to petition for writ of actual innocence.
[S 511] Approved April 9, 2020 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
View plain text versions (4)
- Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0994) View text Current html April 09, 2020
- Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB511ER) View text html March 05, 2020
- Amended Engrossed by Senate as amended SB511E html February 11, 2020
- Impact statement from DPB (SB511) View text html January 07, 2020
Action History
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Approved by Governor-Chapter 994 (effective 7/1/20)
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Impact statement from DPB (SB511ER)
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Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2020
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Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 12, 2020
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Signed by President
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Signed by Speaker
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Enrolled
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House amendment agreed to by Senate (23-Y 14-N)
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Passed by temporarily
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VOTE: Passage (56-Y 44-N)
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Passed House with amendment (56-Y 44-N)
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Engrossed by House as amended
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Committee amendment agreed to
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Read third time
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Read second time
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Impact statement from DPB (SB511E)
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Reported from Appropriations (13-Y 9-N)
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Referred to Committee on Appropriations
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Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment (12-Y 8-N)
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Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
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Read first time
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Placed on Calendar
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Read third time and passed Senate (23-Y 17-N)
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Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
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Printed as engrossed 20104713D-E
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Engrossed by Senate as amended SB511E
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Committee amendment agreed to
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Reading of amendment waived
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Read second time
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Constitutional reading dispensed (36-Y 0-N)
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Impact statement from DPB (SB511)
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Reported from Finance and Appropriations with amendment (15-Y 1-N)
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Rereferred to Finance and Appropriations
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Reported from Judiciary (10-Y 4-N)
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Moved from Courts of Justice to Judiciary due to a change of the committee name
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Referred to Committee on the Judiciary
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Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20104713D
Sponsors
- John S. Edwards · Primary
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 147 not signed on · 58 voted No
Sponsors (1)
Co-sponsors (0)
None.
Not signed on (147)
147 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 147 →"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.
Votes
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 23 | 14 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | 23 | 14 | 0 | 3 |
| % of votes cast | 58% | 35% | 0% | 8% |
How each member voted (40)
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 55 | 44 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 55 | 44 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 56% | 44% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (99)
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 13 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 13 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 59% | 41% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (22)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Brewer, Emily M. | — | Nay |
| Aird, Lashrecse D. | — | Yea |
| Betsy B. Carr | — | Yea |
| Bulova, David L. | — | Yea |
| C.E. Cliff Hayes, Jr. | — | Yea |
| Cox, M. Kirkland | — | Nay |
| David A. Reid | — | Yea |
| Davis, Glenn R. | — | Nay |
| Delores L. McQuinn | — | Yea |
| Fariss, C. Matthew | — | Nay |
| Hurst, Chris L. | — | Yea |
| James W. Morefield | — | Nay |
| Jones, Jerrauld C. "Jay" | — | Yea |
| Knight, Barry D. | — | Nay |
| Luke E. Torian | — | Yea |
| Paul E. Krizek | — | Yea |
| Plum, Kenneth R. | — | Yea |
| Robert S. Bloxom, Jr. | — | Nay |
| Rush, Nick | — | Nay |
| Sickles, Mark D. | — | Yea |
| Terry L. Austin | — | Nay |
| Tyler, Roslyn C. | — | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 12 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 12 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| % of votes cast | 55% | 36% | 0% | 9% |
How each member voted (22)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Lindsey, Joseph C. | — | Not Voting |
| Collins, Christopher E. | — | Nay |
| Adams, Les R. | — | Nay |
| Bell, Robert B. | — | Nay |
| Bourne, Jeffrey M. | — | Yea |
| Campbell, Jeffrey L. | — | Nay |
| Campbell, Ronnie R. | — | Not Voting |
| Carroll Foy, Jennifer D. | — | Yea |
| Charniele L. Herring | — | Yea |
| Don Scott | — | Yea |
| Heretick, Steve E. | — | Yea |
| James A. "Jay" Leftwich | — | Nay |
| Karrie K. Delaney | — | Yea |
| Levine, Mark H. | — | Yea |
| Marcus B. Simon | — | Yea |
| Miyares, Jason S. | — | Nay |
| Mullin, Michael P. | — | Yea |
| Patrick A. Hope | — | Yea |
| Ransone, Margaret B. | — | Nay |
| Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr. | — | Yea |
| Terry G. Kilgore | — | Nay |
| Vivian E. Watts | — | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (40)
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 23 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 23 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 58% | 43% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (40)
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 36 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | 36 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| % of votes cast | 90% | 0% | 0% | 10% |
How each member voted (40)
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 94% | 6% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (16)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| McClellan, Jennifer L. | — | Yea |
| Barker, George L. | — | Yea |
| David W. Marsden | — | Yea |
| Ebbin, Adam P. | — | Yea |
| Edwards, John S. | — | Yea |
| Hanger, Emmett W., Jr. | — | Yea |
| Howell, Janet D. | — | Yea |
| L. Louise Lucas | — | Yea |
| Mamie E. Locke | — | Yea |
| Newman, Stephen D. | — | Nay |
| Norment, Thomas K., Jr. | — | Yea |
| Petersen, J. Chapman | — | Yea |
| R. Creigh Deeds | — | Yea |
| Ruff, Frank M., Jr. | — | Yea |
| Saslaw, Richard L. | — | Yea |
| Vogel, Jill Holtzman | — | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 71% | 29% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (14)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| McClellan, Jennifer L. | — | Yea |
| Chafin, A. Benton "Ben" | — | Nay |
| Morrissey, Joseph D. | — | Yea |
| Edwards, John S. | — | Yea |
| Jennifer B. Boysko | — | Yea |
| L. Louise Lucas | — | Yea |
| Mark D. Obenshain | — | Nay |
| Norment, Thomas K., Jr. | — | Nay |
| Petersen, J. Chapman | — | Yea |
| R. Creigh Deeds | — | Yea |
| Ryan T. McDougle | — | Nay |
| Saslaw, Richard L. | — | Yea |
| Scott A. Surovell | — | Yea |
| William M. Stanley, Jr. | — | Yea |
Subjects
Frequently asked questions
- What does SB 511 do?
- Petition for writ of actual innocence. Provides that a person who was convicted of a felony or who was adjudicated delinquent by a circuit court of an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult may petition for a writ of actual innocence based on biological evidence or nonbiological evidence regardless of the type of plea he entered at trial. Under current law, such person may petition for a writ based on biological evidence if he entered a plea of not guilty, and any person, regardless of the type of plea he entered at trial, may petition for such writ if he is sentenced to death or convicted or adjudicated delinquent of murder or a felony for which the maximum punishment is imprisonment for life. The bill also (i) allows a writ of actual innocence based on nonbiological evidence to be granted if scientific testing of previously untested evidence, regardless of whether such evidence was available or known at the time of conviction, proves that no trier of fact would have found proof of guilt of the person petitioning for the writ, provided that the testing procedure was not available at the time of conviction, and (ii) eliminates the provision that limits a petitioner to only one writ of actual innocence based on nonbiological evidence for any conviction. The bill provides that the petitioner must prove the allegations supporting either type of writ of actual innocence by a preponderance of the evidence. Currently, the petitioner must prove such allegations by clear and convincing evidence. Finally, the bill clarifies that the Attorney General may join a petition for a writ of actual innocence filed in connection with an adjudication of delinquency. This bill is identical to HB 974.
- Who sponsors SB 511?
- SB 511 is sponsored by Edwards, John S..
- What is the current status of SB 511?
- This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 07, 2020. Enacted.
- Where can I track SB 511?
- Track SB 511 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.
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