Virginia lawmakers squeezed new policies into the budget that would save millions of dollars by keeping those charged with small-time crimes and probation violations out of jail.
The little-noticed provisions in some cases mirror bills that failed during the 2010 General Assembly session, part of a long-standing tradition of slipping new law into the state’s two-year fiscal blueprint. The savings helped lawmakers close a $4 billion shortfall through mid-2012.
The effort comes as Gov. Bob McDonnell looks to cut Virginia’s recidivism rates and ease prison overcrowding. The governor last week announced the appointment of Banci Tewolde as the state’s first “prisoner re-entry coordinator.”
Under the budget, Virginia will direct prosecutors not to seek jail time for some misdemeanor charges, thereby removing the requirement for a court-appointed counsel. Legislators assume the policy will save the state $3.5 million a year.
“There isn’t a single human being in Virginia who gets one millisecond in jail for first-offense possession of marijuana,” said Del. Dave Albo, R-Springfield, chairman of the House Courts of Justice Committee. “So why should taxpayers be paying for the guy’s lawyer?”
When a related measure was debated on the House floor, opponents said cutting the use of court-appointed defense attorneys would do a disservice to poor defendants, who may not realize that even a minor drunk-in-public charge will leave a permanent blot on their record.
The budget also contains language that seeks to cut the number of probation violators sent back to prison for technical violations — who account for a large part of Virginia’s prison population growth — as well as encourage the use of electronic monitoring.
Exactly how the state will go about scaling back the use of court-appointed lawyers has not been determined, said D.J. Geiger, deputy executive director for the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission. The budgets calls on that panel, the Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys and the Committee on District Courts to develop a uniform policy.
