RD428 - Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission 2009 Annual Report


Executive Summary:
The Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission is required by § 17.1-803 of the Code of Virginia to report annually to the General Assembly, the Governor and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. To fulfill its statutory obligation, the Commission respectfully submits this report.

The report is organized into five chapters. The remainder of the Introduction chapter provides a general profile of the Commission and an overview of its various activities and projects during 2009. The Guidelines Compliance chapter that follows provides a comprehensive analysis of compliance with the sentencing guidelines during fiscal year (FY) 2009. Results from the Commission's most recent project, a study of parole-eligible inmates remaining in the state's inmate population, are presented in the third chapter of the report. The fourth chapter describes the Commission's most recent findings related to juveniles convicted in Virginia's circuit courts. In the report's final chapter, the Commission presents its recommendations for revisions to the felony sentencing guidelines system.