Annual Survey of Virginia Law: Criminal Law and Procedure

This article discusses holdings and trends in the published cases of the Virginia Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Virginia from August 1996 to July 1997. Although the form of this article generally follows the same form used by prior authors, several subject headings have been renamed to reflect the current focus of the courts. For example, during this period the court of appeals grappled with the "community caretaker" doctrine, bifurcated sentencing proceedings in felony cases, jury selection, and various hearsay exceptions. The supreme court addressed an indigent defendant's right to expert assistance, administrative license suspensions, and speedy trial issues.