Forensic issue will come up again, but not for Frederick

Virginia’s General Assembly held a special session last week to make state law jibe with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

But Prince William area’s lawmakers and their colleagues from around the Old Dominion likely will have to tackle the issue again in January.

At issue is the Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts case, on which justices issued a decision in June.

They ruled that prosecutors must make forensic scientists who prepare evidence reports available for cross-examination by defense attorneys.

Until that decision, Virginia law held that defendants instead had to subpoena the scientists.

But after Melendez-Diaz, prosecutions were being delayed or canceled because the forensic experts sometimes were unavailable to testify.

So the General Assembly unanimously changed the law to say that prosecutors must notify defendants four weeks before a court date that they intend to submit a lab report into evidence.

Then the defendant has two weeks to object to the use of the report only and demand that the scientist who prepared it appear in person.

Between now and January, when the legislature meets again in regular session, political and legal observers will watch to see how judges interpret the legislators’ actions.

The state also could have budgetary challenges, Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick said in an e-mail, “given that it is likely the Commonwealth will need to have more lab staff and technicians to be present in the courtroom.”

Frederick won’t have to make decisions on that front, though. The Republican, who represents much of eastern Prince William County, is not running for re-election.

If there are more bills to come on this matter, they’ll be voted on by either Democrat Luke Torian or Republican Rafael Lopez. They’re squaring off for Frederick’s 52nd District seat.

Slugging — or carjacking?!?

Del. Robert D. “Bob” Hull of Fairfax County, who was defeated in a Democratic primary in June, made a speech at the special session acknowledging his 16 years in office.

In it, he described pride at a bill he submitted about carjacking.

Shortly thereafter, Del. Ward L. Armstrong asked House Speaker Bill Howell for permission to speak.

That wasn’t necessarily a surprise. Armstrong, a Democrat from Henry County, is the House minority leader, after all.

One of the things he said, however, was surprising.

Armstrong recalled campaigning at a slug line here in 2007 for now-Del. Paul F. Nichols, a Lake Ridge Democrat.

He said the system, in which a single driver picks up riders in order to use the carpool lanes, was foreign to someone from southern Virginia:

You pull up, and then two people you don’t know get in your car?

“Down my way, that’s carjacking, Mr. Speaker,” he quipped.

A nod to the opposition

Del. Kristen J. Amundson, who didn’t seek re-election this year, also made a farewell speech.

In her talk, the Fairfax County Democrat said she had frequently been at odds with Del. Robert G. “Bob” Marshall, one of the General Assembly’s most prominent conservatives.

“That said,” she said of the western Prince William Republican, “he is going to be one of the people I’m going to miss the most.”

Words for new teachers

Rep. Gerald E. “Gerry” Connolly spoke to Prince William’s new public school teachers Monday in a talk that ranged from the nuts-and-bolts to the motivating.

Connolly mentioned the $64 million in federal stimulus money coming to the county school system, and he lauded what he called the audience’s choice of a “noble career.”

The Democrat, who represents much of Prince William, said later that sometimes it may seem to teachers that they’re not reaching students.

But, he said, “You’ve got to trust that you’re making a difference, even when it doesn’t seem like you are.”

Candidate cleans up

Jeanette Rishell, a Democrat who is challenging Del. Jackson H. Miller, participated in two public service events last week.

On Friday, she had campaign workers help with a Habitat for Humanity project on Yorkshire Lane near Manassas.

Then on Saturday, she and members of the Manassas/ Manassas Park Cities Democratic Committee cleaned up a portion of Hastings Drive, which they watch over as a part of the “Adopt-A-Street” program.

Rishell has run against Miller, a Republican, twice before for the 50th District seat that represents Manassas, Manassas Park and part of western Prince William.

Staff writer Jonathan Hunley can be reached at 703-369-5738.