Virginia’s Attorney General has asked for more funding to hire dozens of new lawyers. It’s to handle the mounting criminal case appeals in the state.
It’s all because of a new law passed in 2021. The law, SB 1261, provided an automatic right of appeal for criminal defendants and civil litigants and removed the petition-based process for said appeal.
It went into effect Jan. 1 and the attorney general’s office represents the state in all cases.
In a letter to legislative leaders, Attorney General Jason Miyares wrote that previously the system would handle around 250 criminal cases a year. This year, the appeals team had more than 300 cases in January alone. The letter was first published by the Virginia Mercury.
The law also added an additional six judges to the Court of Appeals. They were appointed in August of 2021.
“The skyrocketing increase in the number of appeals should not be shocking, since the fiscal impact for SB 1261 estimated the legislation would likely result in at least a 20% increase in the number of total criminal appeals received,” Miyares wrote
He said the team only has 30 lawyers, but is in need of around 75 total lawyers and staff to handle the caseload. Miyares asked for additional funding for his office in the upcoming biennial budget.
Miyares cited that the former Attorney General, Mark Herring, anticipated this problem and requested funding for 54 new attorneys and 13 support staff. However, they only received the money for 19 lawyers and eight support staff.