It’s National Public Defense Day! At Justice Forward Virginia we’ve acknowledged the occasion like the true public defenders we are—by being way too busy to even notice until now. Happy day to our friends and colleagues! #publicdefenders

BREAKING: Drug residue can’t be used, but possession of it is a felony carrying up to 10 years in prison. HB637 eliminates the unnecessary felony. And after almost a decade of work our bill is headed to the Governor with bipartisan support! Thanks @katrinacallsen.com and the many patrons before her!

BREAKING: Senator Jennifer Boysko’s (@jenniferboysko.com) SB335 to Protect People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD) & Mental Health Disorders is on its way to the Gov’s desk with broad bipartisan support! Six years in the making! Thank you, Senator & our countless partners!

According to Flock and the Richmond Police Chief, we are “powerful entities” using “coordinated attacks” to take down their mass surveillance … with 1/10th of the budget RPD has spent on cameras alone and 1/60,000th the money of Flock. ROFL 🤣 www.richmonder.org/rpd-has-spen...

Ending a long week with bipartisan support for smarter drug policy in Virginia. HB637 creates a misdemeanor for possession of an unmeasurable quantity of a drug, rather than the current felony that carries 1–10 years in prison. Thank you, @katrinacallsen.com and @bradleyrhaywood.bsky.social!

BREAKING: The VA House passed FIVE of our legislative priorities—Deferred Dismissals, Preserve Access to Diversion, Fix Discovery, VLDS, & Aligning Robbery with the Code! The bills are aimed to address outdated laws, expand research opportunities, or make technical fixes. #VALeg

ON THE DOCKET: Feb 4, 2026 House Crts of Justice Crim Sub—15 min after adjournment of committee—Eliminate the Prejudicial Use of Prior Convictions at Trial, JIRC Reform, Eliminate Felony Charge for Possession of Drug Residue, admin action on Repealing Man Mins house.vga.virginia.gov/subcommittee...

ON THE DOCKET: Friday, Jan 23, 2026 House Courts of Justice will meet sometime after adjournment of the House. Marijuana Resentencing, Aligning Class 5 & 6 Robbery Offenses with the Code, CAFA, Fix Discovery, local funding for Public Defenders, and more. house.vga.virginia.gov/subcommittee...

Former Public Defender and President-Elect of the Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers—Chris Leibig—has announced his run for Delegate for HD5. We love to see it! Voting for the Firehouse Primary in Alexandria takes place THIS Tuesday, Jan. 20! www.alxnow.com/2026/01/17/d...

I'm at Richmond Public Library's main branch, where a capacity crowd organized by @richmonddsa.bsky.social has assembled to hear @rpogge.bsky.social of @justicefwdva.bsky.social and other community members speak about the dangers of Flock Safety and other ALPRs.

The Department of Homeland Security released a Maryland woman who was held for 25 days despite evidence that her lawyers say proves she was born in the United States and is a citizen.

Over the last 4 yrs, the GA passed some remarkable—bipartisan—CJR aimed to address basic unfairness, yet the Gov aligned himself with the harshest opponents of reform, vetoing most. Well, we have a new 4 yrs ahead of us! Our 2026 Legislative Priorities: justiceforwardva.com/blog/2025/12...

For those in #Virginia, @rpogge.bsky.social of @justicefwdva.bsky.social will be presenting a "Flock Mass Surveillance Teach-In" community event hosted by @richmonddsa.bsky.social at #Richmond Public Library on Sat Jan 10. 🗓️ Virtual attendance also available. 🧑‍💻 #deflock #surveillance #alpr #flock

This shit better be removed soon. Happy to lend City Hall a hand if needed.

After a local activist collected more than 400 signatures on a petition to Staunton city council asking to cancel its contract with Flock, Flock CEO Garrett Langley sent an unhinged, unsolicited email to council. The city then canceled the contract. augustafreepress.com/news/staunto...

It was only a matter of time before a Virginia law enforcement officer abused the ALPR network. This one used it to track the movements of a fellow officer who was dating his ex-girlfriend. ALPRs make Virginians less safe. www.wric.com/news/local-n...

For the first time in Virginia history, people will be able to seal criminal convictions starting July 1, 2026. @vastatepolice.bsky.social released estimates of how many charges will be eligible for automatic sealing, and how many people can petition for relief. 1/5 vscc.virginia.gov/2025/Dec2VSC...

BIG & BREAKING: The City of Charlottesville, Virginia has announced they’ve made the decision to cease the use of Flock ALPR cameras and the mass surveillance technology will be removed!!! Justice forward! cvillerightnow.com/news/208802-...

ACTION ALERT: Unbelievably, Virginia lawmakers are considering bringing forth legislation to expand mass surveillance in 2026. Take an easy one click call to action to ensure no bill is presented to expand automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). Here: actionnetwork.org/letters/oppo...

Criminal justice reform (CJR) decriminalizes race, poverty, mental health, substance use, & disabilities. We’re matching $100 donations to celebrate #GivingTuesday! Support CJR and help prevent harm to people and communities. Please contribute here: donorbox.org/justiceforwa... @rpogge.bsky.social

Yes, a grassroots movement can defeat mass surveillance. @justicefwdva.bsky.social is proud to be part of that movement. truthout.org/articles/a-v...

Confirmed: Katie Wilson will be mayor of Seattle, ousting the incumbent from his left. And Erika Evans will be the new city attorney, ousting the GOP city attorney after promising to take the office in a more progressive direction. What do progressives' win mean for law enforcement? NEW IN BOLTS:

Got lunch plans Friday? Join the Power Lunch Podcast to chat with our ED @rpogge.bsky.social, Michael Soyfer of IJ, & special guest @equalityalec.bsky.social! Friday’s episode focuses on the rise of mass surveillance and its growing threat to justice—12PM. Register: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

The people were fired up for criminal legal reforms at Justice Reform Happy Hour! Many thanks to @parisaforjustice.bsky.social @hopeforvirginia.bsky.social @salimvasenate.bsky.social for joining us! And to advocates and indigent defenders committed to restoring justice to our communities and courts!

Imagine getting a 67% funding hike and begging for more “The budget for Virginia State Police has grown significantly in the past several years. In 2020, the agency received $374 million in general funds. This year, it has budgeted around $557 million.” richmond.com/news/state-r...

Border Patrol agent Lairmore testifies that he was not injured by the sandwich, but he felt the impact through his ballistic vest. The sandwich came apart and "kind of exploded" on his chest upon impact, he says. "I could smell the onions and mustard."

Senator Wyden and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi have formally requested that the FTC open an investigation into Flock Safety for unnecessarily exposing billions of instances of civilian's vehicle location data to hackers and foreign adversaires. www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

VIRGINIA DEFENSE BAR: Want to tell us about the unjust criminal laws and procedures that harm the people you represent? Join our Indigent Defender Statewide Call on Tuesday, Nov. 4th at 11:00AM to workshop criminal legal reforms together. Register here: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

DEFENDERS: Want to reform the unjust criminal laws and procedures that harm the people you represent? Join the VA Defender Statewide Call Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 11AM to workshop criminal legal reforms. Public defenders & other indigent defenders register here: bit.ly/VaDefenderCall

“The fact that naloxone is widely available in Virginia and people know how to use it to stop overdoses. The fact that we have fentanyl testing strips. Those types of things are what is actually leading to the decline of fentanyl deaths," @rpogge.bsky.social says. www.wvtf.org/news/2025-10...

In two weeks—at about this time—we’ll be deep into a free taco bar, toasting margaritas (hopefully with you) discussing our 2026 CJR priorities! Join us along with Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers for Justice Reform Happy Hour—Wednesday, November 5th at 6PM. See you there!

We oppose mass surveillance ⁦because so long as the data exists, people in power will use it to keep that power. They will lie about how they’re using it. And people will suffer. truthout.org/articles/by-...

It’s hard to explain how bad you have to be acting to get all of these people on the same side.

Sentencing guidelines called for 1 day to 6 months of incarceration, yet Shebri Dillon was sentenced to 30 yrs in a Virginia prison! We’ve filed an amicus brief highlighting how old mandatory jury sentencing laws support Shebri’s ineffective counsel claims. 1/4 justiceforwardva.com/blog/2025/9/...

Law enforcement agencies across the U.S. accessed Bridgewater,VA’s surveillance data 6.9MILLION times. “I’m concerned with the degree to which this kind of data could be used to suppress dissent, to suppress freedom of opinion,” said a resident. vcij.org/stories/stat... @whropublicmedia.bsky.social

When in ten years my kid asks me why we couldn’t save democracy, I’m going to have to tell him who Chuck Schumer was

The Lookout was finally able to get Richmond City Council President Cynthia Newbille on the record about RPD's use of the AI-powered surveillance tech that ICE loves. As far as I can tell, this is her first comment to press about the city's Flock LPR network, for which it paid nearly $400,000. More:

Pritzker: "I refuse to pretend that any of this is normal ... I refuse to fall into the pundit trap that demands we sacrifice vital constitutional rights if it's being done in the fake guise of fighting crime."

Polls show most Americans think crime is rising because 'crime' is a catch-all term. But, there are dozens of evidence-based ways to reduce disorder and fight crime, and many of the most effective approaches do not involve the police. open.substack.com/pub/johnkrom...

Join us at the 2025 Virginia Justice Conference in RVA Sept. 11-12! The event hosts a resource fair, expungement clinic, and panels & workshops focused on VA’s 3 constitutional amendments, probation, parole, higher ed in prison, the politics of crime, and more: www.virginiajusticeconference.com

Outside of electoral politics, legislative advocacy, and grassroots activism, what can ordinary citizens do about unjust laws? Thanks for supporting our t-shirt fundraiser! @joshuaerlich.bsky.social www.bonfire.com/google-34jur...

Crime panic never worries about statistics.

One thing that didn't make it into today's piece: Washington, DC already has by far the highest number of law enforcement officers per capita of any city of 250k+.

Violent crime in D.C. is at a 30-year low. www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/v...

There’s still time to register. Join Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers today at 3PM. Register here: vacdl.org/event-6271649

DEFENSE ATTORNEYS: Register for VACDL’s virtual 1.5 hour MCLE credit—The State of Record Clearance in Virginia. The webinar, presented by @rpogge.bsky.social, covers updated record clearance information that lawyers MUST know. Wednesday, August 6th from 3PM-4:30PM: vacdl.org/event-6271649

This is what these systems are intended to do. Don’t act surprised Mr. Police Chief.

Regulation is good until you realize the federal government has stopped complying with the law. Credit to @dinfontay.com www.wric.com/news/local-n...

NEW: Approximately 1hr after I submitted an inquiry to Richmond Police Department asking if the city's Flock Safety ALPR data had been shared with/accessed by feds, a spokesperson issued a statement acknowledging an ATF "analyst" in June "had made queries for immigration enforcement." Full release: