In previous posts, my colleagues and I have discussed several of the noteworthy bills enacted by the General Assembly in the short session that concluded last month. For example, Jamie wrote about some developments in the law of sentencing and corrections here, I posted John Rubin’s summary of the new gun rights legislation here, and I blogged here about the electronic sweepstakes ban. But of course, the General Assembly passed a number of other criminal law bills, some quite important. This post gives you the tools you need to get an overview of the legislature’s actions.
I’d start here, with a list of enacted bills compiled by the AOC. The bills are grouped by subject — the section under the heading Criminal/Motor Vehicle is where the action is for readers of this blog. For each bill, there is a one-line description of its general subject matter. The relevant section starts on page one, and is less than a page long, so you can get a feel for whether the General Assembly did anything that impacts your work in about 60 seconds.
If you want a heartier meal than that, the first ten pages of this document, prepared by the School of Government’s own John Rubin and Jim Drennan, provides a paragraph-length summary of each criminal law bill. It’s a perfect length for printing out and reading over lunch, or while waiting in court, or whatever.
And if you still haven’t had enough, here you can read the AOC’s detailed summary of criminal and motor vehicle legislation. This is a 45-page document that may be more than you need for some things but exactly what you need for others. And of course, gluttons for punishment can see the bills and session laws themselves on the General Assembly’s website.
Thanks to Matt Osborne and Troy Page at the AOC for allowing me to post their excellent summaries here.