Virginia General Assembly Passes Bill Concerning Jury List Availability

The Virginia General Assembly recently passed a new bill that has now been signed into law by Governor McDonnell.  The bill allows attorneys to receive a list of potential jurors five business days before a jury trial.  Before the bill was passed, attorneys were often unable to get the list of potential jurors for their personal injury case until the day before the trial.  Fortunately, in Charlottesville and Albemarle, we were usually able to get the list at least two days in advance.  It is important that a Virginia attorney, personal injury or otherwise, is able to have adequate time to review who the potential jurors are.  Five days will allow time to properly vet, or examine potential jurors.  This was a good non-partisan bill that was supported by both Virginia plaintiff and defense attorneys.