Senator Saddam Azlan Salim is once again working to protect individuals’ Fourth Amendment rights, which safeguard against unreasonable searches and seizures.

In Virginia, it is a common practice for Commonwealth’s Attorneys to draft plea agreements that require defendants to waive their Fourth Amendment rights in exchange for reduced charges or lighter sentences.

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Senator Salim has filed SB 23 for the 2026 Session of the Virginia General Assembly. The bill would prohibit plea agreements and court orders from containing provisions that extinguish a defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights or limit their ability to seek expungement.

SB 23 includes a carve-out whereby it won’t apply in cases involving sex crimes where the victim is under 18.

The legislation also specifies that any Fourth Amendment waiver may not extend beyond the length of a defendant’s supervised probation or suspended sentence.

Salim argues that these waivers often outlast probation, “encouraging bad policework and exposing those who have paid their debt to society to an endless infringement on their privacy.”

When announcing this year’s bill, Salim highlighted remarks from Rob Poggenklass, executive director of Justice Forward Virginia:

“You can be walking down the street, and a uniformed law enforcement officer can stop you, recognize you, and know that you have a waiver—and then proceed to search you without any cause.”

Salim previously pushed for this reform in 2024, noting it was one of the first bills he successfully moved through the General Assembly. Although the legislation passed both chambers, it was vetoed by Governor Glenn Youngkin.

This year, Salim said SB 23 was the first bill he sent to the clerk. During the upcoming General Assembly there will be a new governor in town—Abigail Spanberger.

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