Because most of the East Coast laws and state governments were setup after being under a king, most of them have numerous individual protections from the government itself (which also tends to make them more Right Wing). One aspect that Virginia has that you won't find in a state west of the Mississippi is a Magistrate. When you are arrested by the police you appear before the Magistrate, who sets bail or decides that the police should've never arrested you in the first place. Sure other states do this too, but the Magistrate is not part of police as it is in most states. Thus you don't have the police checking the police. In fact, usually magistrates aren't even lawyers, but rather someone outside the system who has an objective view on the situation.