                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

REDUCTION OF SENTENCE; SUBSTANTIAL ASSISTANCE TO PROSECUTION (§ 19.2-303.01)

Notwithstanding any other provision of law or rule of court, upon motion of the
attorney for the Commonwealth, the sentencing court may reduce the
defendant&#8217;s sentence if the defendant, after entry of the final judgment
order, provided substantial assistance in investigating or prosecuting another
person for (i) an act of violence as defined in § 19.2-297.1, an act of larceny
of a firearm in violation of § 18.2-95, or any violation of § 18.2-248,
18.2-248.01, 18.2-248.02, 18.2-248.03, 18.2-248.1, 18.2-248.5, 18.2-251.2,
18.2-251.3, 18.2-255, 18.2-255.2, 18.2-258, 18.2-258.02, 18.2-258.1, or
18.2-258.2, or any substantially similar offense in any other jurisdiction,
which offense would be a felony if committed in the Commonwealth; (ii) a
conspiracy to commit any of the offenses listed in clause (i); or (iii)
violations as a principal in the second degree or accessory before the fact of
any of the offenses listed in clause (i). In determining whether the defendant
has provided substantial assistance pursuant to the provisions of this section,
the court shall consider (a) the court&#8217;s evaluation of the significance
and usefulness of the defendant&#8217;s assistance, taking into consideration
the Commonwealth&#8217;s evaluation of the assistance rendered; (b) the
truthfulness, completeness, and reliability of any information or testimony
provided by the defendant; (c) the nature and extent of the defendant&#8217;s
assistance; (d) any injury suffered or any danger or risk of injury to the
defendant or his family resulting from his assistance; and (e) the timeliness of
the defendant&#8217;s assistance. If the motion is made more than one year after
entry of the final judgment order, the court may reduce a sentence only if the
defendant&#8217;s substantial assistance involved (1) information not known to
the defendant until more than one year after entry of the final judgment order,
(2) information provided by the defendant within one year of entry of the final
judgment order but that did not become useful to the Commonwealth until more
than one year after entry of the final judgment order, or (3) information the
usefulness of which could not reasonably have been anticipated by the defendant
until more than one year after entry of the final judgment order and which was
promptly provided to the Commonwealth by the defendant after its usefulness was
reasonably apparent.

HISTORY: 2018, cc. 492, 493; 2020, c. 765.