Annual Survey of Virginia Law: Criminal Law and Procedure

The past year has been an active one for the Virginia courts and General Assembly in the areas of criminal law and procedure. Developments include cases regarding the allowance of expert assistance to indigent criminal defendants and a defendant's right to a new trial based on after-discovered evidence. Driving under the influence [DUI] defendants are no longer entitled to their choice of a blood or breath test as a function of the implied consent law, and for felons convicted of committing an offense after December 31, 1994, parole is no longer an option. This article surveys these and other legislative and judicial developments in Virginia criminal law.

Although this article is intended to survey significant developments over the past year, the reader is cautioned to bear in mind several important caveats.