Author: Dick Hall-Sizemore
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It Just Got Worse for the Unemployed
By Dick Hall-Sizemore For those on this blog (including me) who have speculated as to why unemployed Virginians, who were getting up to $300 per week in unemployment benefits, could be behind on their rent, mortgage, and utility bills, here is one answer: They have not been getting that money since August 1. The Virginian…
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No! We Want to Spend the Money!
By Dick Hall-Sizemore After more than a month into a special session called primarily to deal with revenue shortfalls resulting from the pandemic-induced economic slowdown, the House and Senate finally have produced their versions of a revised budget. I wonder if Governor Ralph Northam is regretting having even called this special session. Neither house limited…
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Hitting a Cop With a Pretzel Will Still Be a Felony
By Dick Hall-Sizemore One of the pieces of the criminal justice reform package that caused some consternation on this blog has been killed in a House committee. SB 5032 (Surovell, D-Fairfax) would have amended the statute that makes assault of a public safety employee, including a law-enforcement officer, a felony, with a mandatory minimum sentence…
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The Trojan Horse Amendment
By Dick Hall-Sizemore I need some help sorting out a dilemma I find myself in. I am strongly in favor of the concept of authorizing an independent commission to draw legislative district lines. On the other hand, I really do not like the proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution that would create such a commission.…
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Progress Check on Criminal Justice Reform and Budget Fix
By Dick Hall-Sizemore Although there is not an official “cross-over” deadline for legislation in the special session, each house of the General Assembly seems to have largely completed consideration of its own bills. Thus, this is a good time to review their progress on enacting the Democrats’ agenda on criminal justice reform and revising the…
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A Sad Emblem of Our Times
By Dick Hall-Sizemore A venerable Richmond-based printing company closed last May. Somehow, that really saddened me. Perhaps because it was located not far from where I live. Perhaps because it had been around for so long. Perhaps because it had a niche business that seemed sort of neat to me. Perhaps because its closing seemed…
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Reinforcing a Constitutional Right
By Dick Hall-Sizemore While there are several high-profile bills on police and criminal justice reforms making their way through the General Assembly, another, less-noticed bill, SB 5007 (Morrissey, D-Richmond), ending jury sentencing, has the potential to have as great an impact on the Commonwealth’s criminal justice system as any of the others. Currently, in Virginia,…
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Reporting in on the Virtual Learning Experience
By Dick Hall-Sizemore I am taking a course this fall from J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College. Virtual, of course. The experience leaves a lot to be desired. First of all, I need to stipulate that I have little ground on which to complain because I do not have to pay any tuition. The state has…
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Also Chillin’
By Dick Hall-Sizemore Like Jim, I am taking a week off and chilling out. Except I am in Sandbridge (Virginia Beach) with my wife, our daughter and her family. (Those are the grandkids in the photo.) Sandbridge is pretty isolated from the rest of Virginia Beach. That is what I like about it. We have…
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Be Careful What You Ask For!
By Dick Hall-Sizemore Increasing earned sentence credits for offenders in state prisons seems to have a good chance of passing in the General Assembly session. SB 5034 (Boysko, Fairfax) has been reported by the Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services and re-referred to the Finance Committee. The House Democratic Caucus’s agenda for the special session…
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Police and People in a Mental Health Crisis
By Dick Hall-Sizemore The Senate Judiciary Committee reported many of the Democrats’ criminal justice reform bills at its meeting last week. I will discuss the most important ones, in some depth, in installments, rather than all at once. This first installment is on the interaction between police and mentally ill folks. For many years, police…
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What About Those Folks Facing Eviction, Governor?
By Dick Hall-Sizemore In his July 24 letter to the Chief Justice, the Governor requested the Supreme Court extend its moratorium on evictions. He concluded his request by saying, “This [the moratorium] will provide my administration the time to both work with the General Assembly to develop and pass a legislative package that will provide…
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The Hearings Are Over, Let the Battles Begin
By Dick Hall-Sizemore The House Committees on Courts of Justice and Public Safety held three meetings/public hearings in preparation for the General Assembly’s consideration of criminal justice and police reform in the upcoming special session. The sessions were billed as public hearings, but, in actuality, most of the time was spent in hearing from invited…
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Another Perspective on Evictions
By Dick Hall-Sizemore As has been reported on this blog, the Virginia Supreme Court granted Governor Northam’s request to extend the moratorium on evictions related to non-payment of rent. The court was closely divided, 4-3. The dissenting opinions are quite convincing. It is obvious that the majority, cognizant of the dilemma caused by thousands of…
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Take a Seat, the Doctor Will See You Shortly
By Dick Hall-Sizemore The latest action by Virginia hospitals is sheer chutzpah. The 2020 General Assembly adopted actions aimed to reduce state Medicaid payments for emergency room services later deemed to be unnecessary. As described by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the aim was to discourage Medicaid recipients from unnecessary use of emergency departments instead of seeking…