Bill Amendment: VA HB63 | 2024 | Regular Session
Bill Title: Criminal cases; request for a jury to ascertain punishment.
Status: 2024-04-17 - House sustained Governor's veto [HB63 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HB63-Governor_s_veto_explanation.html
GOVERNOR'S VETO
Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto House Bill 63, which relates to requests for a jury to ascertain punishment.
The proposal allows an accused individual to withdraw a jury sentencing request until the commencement of the sentencing proceeding and allows counsel to examine jurors regarding the potential range of punishment regardless of whether the jury will provide a sentence.
The determination of guilt or innocence of an individual should not be influenced by the potential range of punishments. The procedure for informing jurors of the sentencing range changed in 2020. Since then, jurors are made aware of the sentencing range during the jury selection process, as they will be responsible for determining the sentence.
Providing the potential range of sentencing during jury selection only serves to influence juror decision-making inappropriately. In practice, this proposal endorses jury nullification, which occurs when a jury acquits despite evidence proving guilt.
The bill will also unduly burden victims who have prepared to testify before the jury about the effects of the crime.
Further, the proposed ability to revoke the request for jury sentencing before and after the sentencing phase will require prosecutors to expend unnecessary resources. Our courts operate with funding constraints, and providing defendants with the right to retract their request for jury sentencing until sentencing commences would be burdensome for our legal system.
Accordingly, I veto this bill.
