Gov. Timothy M. Kaine signed bills approved by the General Assembly during its special session week Friday. One mitigates the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Melendez-Diaz case; the other provides $632,867 in compensation for Arthur Lee Whitfield for the years he was wrongly imprisoned for a crime that DNA evidence later proved he didn’t commit.

“I thank Sens. Tommy Norment, Dick Saslaw and Henry Marsh along with Dels. Ward Armstrong, Morgan Griffith and Dave Albo for their work on the Melendez issue. Without them this necessary legislation would not have been possible,” says Kaine. “I’d also like to thank Sen. Ken Stolle, Del. Bob Tata, Del. Kenny Alexander and the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus for working on the legislation to compensate Mr. Whitfield. He will now receive some monetary compensation for the years he lost while in prison.”

On June 25, 2009, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 opinion in Melendez-Diaz vs. Massachusetts. That decision held that in criminal cases, the burden of producing a witness who performed a lab analysis could not be shifted from the Commonwealth to the defendant. This would violate a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right of confrontation.

The bill Kaine signed conforms Virginia’s statutes more closely to the laws in several other states that were specifically approved in the Melendez-Diaz decision. It also will allow for continuances when expert witnesses are not available.

The General Assembly is expected to address remaining concerns during the 2010 legislative session beginning in January.