VirginiaAdmission of evidence; evidentiary hearing, excluded persons.
What it does
Admission of evidence; evidentiary hearing; excluded persons. Exempts no more than two persons whose presence, in the judgment of the court, would be supportive of the complaining witness and would not impair the conduct of a fair hearing or pose a substantial risk of influencing or affecting the content of the testimony from being excluded from evidentiary hearings for certain prosecutions. The bill provides that if such support persons are exempted, the judge shall admonish such support persons to not prompt, communicate with, or influence the complaining witness in any way.
More detail
Lastly, the bill provides that a court may exercise its discretion to remove a support person from the courtroom if it believes such support person is prompting, communicating with, or influencing the complaining witness.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Feb 18Left in Committee Courts of JusticeLatest
- Feb 6Subcommittee recommends striking from the docket (10-Y 0-N)
- Vote recorded Subcommittee recommends striking from the docket. Result: pass.Lower
- Vote recorded Subcommittee recommends laying on the table. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 6Reconsidered by Courts of Justice (Voice Vote)
- Feb 6Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (10-Y 0-N)
- Feb 5Assigned HCJ sub: CriminalMinor
- Jan 14Referred to Committee for Courts of JusticeMinor
- Jan 14Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103645DIntroduced