Bill > HB1850

This bill amends Virginia Code § 19.2-243 to clarify and modify the time limitations for prosecuting felony and misdemeanor cases after a probable cause finding. The legislation maintains existing provisions that require trials to be commenced within specific timeframes (five months for defendants in continuous custody, nine months for defendants released on recognizance) to prevent prosecution from being indefinitely delayed. The key modification adds "evaluation to determine competency to stand trial" as an exception to the time limitation, meaning the speedy trial timeline can be paused during a defendant's competency assessment. The bill makes some minor grammatical adjustments, such as changing "five" and "nine months" to "five-month" and "nine-month" periods. The law continues to list several other exceptions that can pause the prosecution timeline, including defendant insanity, witness unavailability, joint defendant trials, continuances requested by the defense, jury deadlock, and extraordinary events like natural disasters. The overall purpose is to balance defendants' rights to a speedy trial with practical considerations that might legitimately delay criminal proceedings.

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https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/HB1850