SB334 - Plea agreements and court orders; prohibited provisions.

2 Co-Sponsors

Plea agreements; prohibited provisions. Prohibits plea agreements and court orders executed or entered on or after July 1, 2024, from containing any provision that purports to waive, release, or extinguish a defendant's (i) rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution of Virginia; (ii) right to file a petition requesting expungement of the police records and the court records; or (iii) right to have criminal history record information and court records sealed. The bill provides that any such prohibited provision of a plea agreement or court order is void and unenforceable as against public policy. Plea agreements; prohibited provisions. Prohibits plea agreements and court orders executed or entered on or after July 1, 2024, from containing any provision that purports to waive, release, or extinguish a defendant's (i) rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution of Virginia; (ii) right to file a petition requesting expungement of the police records and the court records; or (iii) right to have criminal history record information and court records sealed. The bill provides that any such prohibited provision of a plea agreement or court order is void and unenforceable as against public policy. The bill provides that such prohibition does not apply to any plea agreements, written agreements, or court orders entered into by a defendant and the Commonwealth (a) as a condition for participation in a specialty docket or (b) in a case involving a sexual offense where the victim is under 18 years of age. The bill further provides that any waiver, release, or extinguishment of rights under the Fourth Amendment permissible by law shall be no longer than the period of supervised probation or post-release supervision imposed against the defendant; if the defendant is not placed on supervised probation or post-release supervision, it shall be no longer than the period of suspension of sentence or post-release incarceration imposed against such defendant.