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rpogge.bsky.social
Executive Director @justicefwdva.bsky.social. Former public defender, legal aid lawyer and ACLUVA policy fellow. Cville local. Iowan. https://justiceforwardva.com/
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LATE & BREAKING: VA House & VA Senate passed EIGHT of our legislative priorities AND stopped the expansion of mass surveillance. The Governor has until 3/24 to sign, amend, or veto. Scroll the thread to see what restoring justice to our communities & courthouses could look like:

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

By March 24, Gov. Youngkin will have acted on all 900+ bills the General Assembly sent him. Two bills we’ve followed closely, record sealing and ALPR regulation, are hugely important. Here’s why it’s worth paying attention to these bills. 🧵1/16 bsky.app/profile/brad...

submitted 11 days ago • 1 comment

Virginia stand up! 18,066 letters to lawmakers-minimum, calls, testimony, in-person advocacy, and late yesterday afternoon the Virginia House & Virginia Senate voted to HALT THE EXPANSION OF MASS SURVEILLANCE! Lawmakers took action because of you. Congrats, this win belongs to you! #VALeg

submitted 34 days ago • 0 comments

BREAKING: E-Discovery passes the Virginia Senate UNANIMOUSLY! The Senate companion also passed the House 91-6. These bills are headed to the Governor’s desk! Thank you to the patrons Del. Keys_Gamarra & Sen. Carroll Foy. Justice forward! #VALeg

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

UPDATE: Expanding surveillance to state highways is a DEEPLY unpopular policy and dangerous one. That’s why Senate Courts amended HB2724 on Monday to remove expansion from the bill. Despite the better judgement, the patron & police still want to expand…badly. @rpogge.bsky.social explains:

submitted 37 days ago • 0 comments

Supporters of ALPRs cite three key rationales for putting them up everywhere. Let's take them one by one. 1. Missing people OK, sure. If the bill was about this, we would have supported it. It's not. Literally no one opposes finding missing people. 🧵1/9

submitted 37 days ago • 1 comment

For three sessions in a row, we @justicefwdva.bsky.social have consistently, steadfastly opposed the expansion of automatic license plate readers to the Commonwealth's highways. We and many other VA organizations will continue to do so. Read our letter here: justiceforwardva.com/blog/2025/2/...

submitted 41 days ago • 0 comments

The right to be free from arbitrary or unlawful interference with one’s private affairs is a core principle of not only our constitution, but human rights. We’ve joined 21 groups urging the VA Senate to halt expansion of mass surveillance and protect people: justiceforwardva.com/blog/2025/2/...

submitted 46 days ago • 1 comment

BREAKING: Record Sealing bills pass the Virginia House and Senate with broad bipartisan support! In a growing number of states lawmakers have come together to pass similar laws, enhancing public safety and the workforce by breaking down barriers to suitable housing and employment! #VALeg

submitted 51 days ago • 0 comments

Ok, are we ready for another explainer? This time I’m going to actually explain where the holes are in this automatic license plate reader bill and how they will be exploited to oppress vulnerable people Dems ought to be protecting. 1/9

submitted 54 days ago • 2 comments

Today, I spoke w/ @rpogge.bsky.social and Bryan Kennedy of @justicefwdva.bsky.social to discuss the criminal justice policies being considered in VA's legislature. Of note, there is a dangerous potential for an expansion of mass surveillance. open.spotify.com/episode/5K85...

submitted 56 days ago • 0 comments

BREAKING: HB1630–E-Discovery—passes the Virginia House 88-6! Current law makes it nearly impossible for defendants to access their case information in a timely manner. HB1630 provides timely access to discovery, supporting the fundamentals of a fair trial and info sharing set out by SCOVA! #VALeg

submitted 56 days ago • 0 comments

BREAKING: HB2222 Prohibiting youth shackling UNANIMOUSLY passed the VA House!!! “It’s astonishing in the amount of trauma it causes to children,” Amy Borror of @gaultcenter.bsky.social says about the practice. Many thanks to Delegate Rae Cousins for patroning our urgently needed bill! #VALeg

submitted 56 days ago • 0 comments

Basically every criminal justice bill hearing: - CJ reformers: here’s some data & evidence! - Cops/prosecutors: here’s a thing that happened once, which you’ll never be able to fact-check, but which I promise was really, really bad, and warrants giving us more power to put humans in cages.

submitted 59 days ago • 1 comment