VirginiaWarrants may cover bodies and evidence from unattended deaths
The proposal describes warrants for a body or evidence about a death when no physician was attending the person at the time of death.
What it does
A warrant may cover a dead body or evidence about how the person died when no physician was attending the person at the time of death.
Argument forA warrant could let officers seek a body or evidence about a death when no doctor was attending, which may help clarify what happened.
Argument againstAllowing a warrant to cover a body or death evidence could expose private details about a death, which may worry grieving families.
More detail
The proposal describes when a search warrant may cover a dead body or evidence about its cause or manner of death. It applies when the person was not being attended to by a physician at the time of death. The physician-attendance condition applies at the time of death.
Where do you stand?
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed House
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Jul 21Continued from last sessionLatest
- Feb 11Continued to next session in Courts of Justice (14-Y 0-N)
- Feb 11Senate committee offered
- Feb 9Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB570)
- Jan 14Referred to Committee for Courts of JusticeMinor
- Jan 14Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103541DIntroduced
Criminal Justice