Title 17.1, Title 17.1. Courts of Record

Whenever a vacancy occurs or exists in the office of a justice of the Supreme Court while the General Assembly is in session, or whenever the term of office of a justice of the Supreme Court will expire or the office will be vacated at a date certain between the adjournment of th…

A. The Supreme Court shall hold one term annually, commencing at such time and continuing for such period as it may determine. Sessions shall be held at Richmond commencing at such times and continuing for such periods as the Court from time to time directs. B. In the event of a …

The Supreme Court by an order entered of record, may direct a special session to be held at such time as it may deem proper. A special session may also be held, by order of the Chief Justice in vacation, on the written request of the Governor to him, or whenever it is proper in t…

At any such special session, the Supreme Court, by consent of the parties or their counsel, may hear and determine any cause then ready for a hearing, or, without such consent, upon twenty days' previous notice in writing, given by a party desiring a hearing to the adverse party,…

The Supreme Court, with the aid of the Executive Secretary, shall obtain the information to be contained in the reports to be made pursuant to § 17.1-221 and present the same to the next regular session of the General Assembly, and at each recurring session, together with any rec…

The Supreme Court may sit and render final judgment en banc or in divisions, as may be prescribed by rules of the Court not inconsistent with the provisions of this section. No decision shall become the judgment of the Court, however, except on the concurrence of at least three j…

The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus and prohibition to the circuit and district courts, the Court of Appeals, and to the State Corporation Commission and in all other cases in which such writs, respectively, would lie according to the principles o…

The Supreme Court shall also have jurisdiction to award writs of habeas corpus and of such appeals, writs of error and supersedeas as may be legally docketed in or transferred to the Court.

Writs of prohibition or mandamus from the Supreme Court shall issue and be tried at any place of session of the Court.

The appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in any criminal case may be exercised at any place of session, no matter where the court may have been held which rendered the judgment in such case.

The Office of Executive Secretary to the Supreme Court, to be filled by a person having the qualifications as may be prescribed by the justices of the Supreme Court, is hereby created to be the court administrator for the Commonwealth. He shall be appointed by the Supreme Court, …

The Executive Secretary to the Supreme Court shall have the following duties: 1. He shall be the Secretary of the Judicial Council; 2. He shall be the Secretary of the Judicial Conference; 3. He shall assist the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court in the administration of the jud…

When notified by the reporter of the Supreme Court that he has sufficient copy to issue a volume of the Virginia Reports, or a substantial part thereof, the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia shall order the printing of such copy. The Executive Secretary of the …

A. In addition to the copies authorized to be printed and bound under § 17.1-316, the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia may have printed, for sale as advance sheets, a number of copies of each such report sufficient to fill orders received for advance sheets. H…

A. The Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia shall be charged with the custody, disposal and sale of the published reports of the decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. One copy of each volume of the reports hereafter published shall be furnished …

The Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia is authorized and directed to furnish to the law school of any institution of higher education in the Commonwealth whose law library has been destroyed by fire, out of any surplus copies on hand and available for such distr…

The Supreme Court shall have authority to contract with some suitable person to report such of its decisions as the Court shall direct, at such compensation as may be appropriated by law for the purpose, payable in monthly installments. The Court may at any time put an end to suc…

The Reporter shall prepare and deliver from time to time to such printer as the Comptroller may direct manuscript reports of such decisions of the Court as the judges thereof shall direct, with an abstract of the points decided in each case and an index to the contents of the vol…

In those cases which the Reporter is directed to report, copies of the reasons stated in writing, under Section 6 of Article VI of the Constitution of Virginia, shall be delivered by the clerk of the Court to the Reporter.

The justices of the Supreme Court shall receive such salaries as shall be fixed from time to time in the general appropriation act.

The Clerk of the Supreme Court and the deputy clerks of the Court shall each receive an annual salary, as fixed by the Court. The salaries prescribed in this section for the Clerk and deputy clerks of the Supreme Court shall be the entire compensation for all services rendered by…

The reporter of the Supreme Court shall receive an annual salary as fixed by the Court. Nothing herein contained, however, shall be construed to lessen or eliminate the authority of the General Assembly to fix and determine such salary.

Any justice, judge, member of the State Corporation Commission, or member of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission who is retired under the Judicial Retirement System (§ 51.1-300 et seq.) and who is temporarily recalled to service shall be reimbursed for actual expenses i…

A. The Clerk of the Supreme Court shall charge the following fees: 1. In every case in which a petition is presented, $50, which shall be collected at the time such petition is presented. Twenty-five dollars of each fee collected under this section shall be apportioned to the Cou…

The Clerk of the Supreme Court shall keep an accurate account of all fees and costs collected by him and shall make monthly deposits thereof in a depository, or depositories, approved by the State Treasurer, to the credit of the Commonwealth of Virginia. A report of each deposit …

A. A judicial emergency may be declared as provided in this section when a disaster, as defined in § 44-146.16, substantially endangers or impedes the operation of a court, the ability of persons to avail themselves of the court, or the ability of litigants or others to have acce…

Any order declaring a judicial emergency shall be recorded in the order book maintained by the clerk of the Supreme Court, and notice shall be provided to the clerk of the Court of Appeals and all judges and clerks of the courts within any affected circuit or district. Notice to …

A. The Court of Appeals of Virginia is hereby established effective January 1, 1985. It shall consist of 21 judges who shall be elected for terms of eight years by the majority of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall consider regio…

A. Any chief judge or judge of the Court of Appeals who is eligible for retirement, other than for disability, with the consent of a majority of the members of the court first obtained, may elect to retire under the Judicial Retirement System (§ 51.1-300 et seq.) and be known and…

A. The Court of Appeals shall sit at such locations within the Commonwealth as the chief judge, upon consultation with the other judges of the court, shall designate so as to provide, insofar as feasible, convenient access to the various geographic areas of the Commonwealth. The …

The Supreme Court shall prescribe and publish the initial rules governing practice, procedure, and internal processes for the Court of Appeals designed to achieve the just, speedy, and inexpensive disposition of all litigation in that court consistent with the ends of justice and…

The Court of Appeals shall have authority to punish for contempt. In addition, in such cases over which the court would have appellate jurisdiction, the court shall have original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus, prohibition and habeas corpus.

A. Unless otherwise provided by law, any aggrieved party may appeal to the Court of Appeals from: 1. Any final decision of a circuit court on appeal from (i) a decision of an administrative agency, or (ii) a grievance hearing decision issued pursuant to § 2.2-3005; 2. Any final d…

A. Any aggrieved party may appeal to the Court of Appeals from any final conviction in a circuit court of a traffic infraction or a crime. The Commonwealth or any county, city, or town may petition the Court of Appeals for an appeal pursuant to this subsection in any case in whic…

A. The notice of appeal in all cases within the jurisdiction of the court shall be filed with the clerk of the trial court or the clerk of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission, as appropriate, and a copy of such notice shall be mailed or delivered to all opposing counsel…

The notice of appeal to the Court of Appeals shall be filed in every case within the court's appellate jurisdiction as provided in § 8.01-675.3. The opening brief in a criminal case shall be filed not more than 40 days after the filing of the record with the Court of Appeals. How…

A. In any case in which an appeal has been taken to or filed with the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court in its discretion, on motion of the Court of Appeals, or on its own motion, may certify the case for review by the Supreme Court before it has been determined by the Court of…

A. Each appeal of right taken to the Court of Appeals and each appeal for which a petition for appeal has been granted shall be considered by a panel of the court. When the Court of Appeals has (i) dismissed an appeal in any case in accordance with the Rules of Court or (ii) deci…

Except where the decision of the Court of Appeals is made final under § 17.1-410 or § 19.2-408, any party aggrieved by a final decision of the Court of Appeals, including the Commonwealth, may petition the Supreme Court for an appeal. The Commonwealth, or any county, city, or tow…

A judgment, order, conviction, or decree of a circuit court or award of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission may be affirmed, or it may be reversed, modified, or set aside by the Court of Appeals for errors appearing in the record. If the decision of the Court of Appeals…

A. The Court of Appeals shall state in writing the reasons for its ruling in a case. Subject to rules promulgated under § 17.1-403 the Court in its discretion may render its decision by order or memorandum opinion. All orders and opinions of the Court of Appeals shall be preserve…

A. The Court of Appeals shall be housed in the City of Richmond and, if practicable, in the same building occupied by the Supreme Court. When facilities are required for the convening of panels in other areas of the Commonwealth, the chief judge of the Court of Appeals shall prov…

The judges of the Court of Appeals shall receive from the Commonwealth an annual salary that shall be fixed in the general appropriations act and set at an amount equal to ninety-five percent of the annual salary fixed by law for justices of the Supreme Court. The Chief Judge of …

There shall be a clerk of the Court of Appeals, who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Court of Appeals. The clerk shall adopt a separate seal of office for the Court of Appeals as approved by the Court of Appeals. The number and salaries of the deputies and o…

Each judge of the Court of Appeals shall be entitled to the services of such support staff as shall be authorized by and paid from the appropriation to the Court of Appeals.

The Clerk of the Court of Appeals shall charge the following fees: 1. For filing a notice of appeal or initiating any matter under the original jurisdiction of the court, $50 payable by check or money order to the Clerk of the Court of Appeals. Twenty-five dollars of each fee col…