Orin Kerr comments:
A few weeks ago, Virginia Delegate Rich Anderson (R) and Senator Richard Stuart (R) introduced an amendment in the Virginia General Assembly, HJR 578, which would amend the Virginia constitution by replacing the state equivalent of the Fourth Amendment with an all new version designed to be an ‘update’ for the 21st century. A reader asked me for my opinion of the proposal. This post provides it.
My overall assessment is that this proposal isn’t ready for prime time. First, it’s a truly radical set of ideas. It would restrict police power to enforce the law in dramatic ways far beyond anything seen before. Second, it’s a grab-bag of different police restrictions, many poorly drafted and murky as to their scope. And ironically, several of the proposed changes actually aren’t likely to be changes at all. They’re drafted in odd ways that probably miss their intended targets.
Read more on WaPo The Volokh Conspiracy.