Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 3, 1995                   TAG: 9501030118
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                 LENGTH: Medium

NEW SENTENCING LAW BRINGS DROP IN JURY TRIALS

Attorneys said that since the law went into effect July 1, the number of jury trials has decreased in favor of plea agreements or judge-only trials, especially in areas with reputations for tough sentences from juries.

The law was part of Gov. George Allen's effort to bring truth to sentencing.

Before the law changed, many defendants who opted for jury trials had criminal records, said Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Warren B. Von Schuch of Chesterfield County. A jury did not know about a defendant's record before it recommended a sentence, although the judge knew the record before he imposed the sentence.

Von Schuch estimated Chesterfield will have only a fourth the number of criminal jury trials during the first year of the law.

Richmond Public Defender David J. Johnson said that even in the city, which he believes has more lenient jurors than the surrounding counties, the number of jury trials has dropped somewhat.

But many lawyers also say the law has had far less effect than they expected, both on the number of jury trials and on the length of trials' sentencing phases.

``It's still early,'' Johnson said. ``It may turn out to have a huge impact.''

He said he knew of one Richmond case that had been affected directly by the new law. The case was not handled by his office. A man enticed an 11-year-old boy into his car under the pretext of hiring him to shovel snow. The boy testified that the man tried to fondle him, but returned him home when the boy pushed his hand away.

The jury reluctantly convicted the man. In the sentencing phase of the trial, jurors were shocked to learn the man had spent time in prison for a similar incident, Richmond Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Claire G. Cardwell said. The jury needed only minutes to recommend an 80-year prison sentence.

Johnson said he has not seen the logistical nightmare during the sentencing phase that opponents of the measure had predicted . Criminal records long have been allowed in the sentencing phase of capital murder cases, and testimony in that period is often long.

The legislature responded to those fears by limiting the amount of evidence that can be introduced in the sentencing phase of noncapital cases under the new law.

Defense attorney Craig S. Cooley has tried to track problems the law has created.

``I think it's had less impact than anybody thought it would have'' in terms of disrupting the court system, said Cooley, a former chairman of the criminal-law section of the Virginia State Bar.

Johnson said defense attorneys have realized they now have an advantage when working with a client who has little or no criminal background.

``The commonwealth kind of picks and chooses, too,'' Johnson said. In cases in which defendants have insignificant records, prosecution offers for plea agreements tend to be better for defendants than they were before the law took effect, he said.