Title 19.2, Criminal Procedure

In any criminal case in which a non-English-speaking person is the accused, an interpreter for the non-English-speaking person shall be appointed. In any criminal case in which a non-English-speaking person is a victim or witness, an interpreter shall be appointed by the judge of…

In any criminal case in which a deaf person is the accused, an interpreter for the deaf person shall be appointed. In any criminal case in which a deaf person is the victim or a witness, an interpreter for the deaf person shall be appointed by the court in which the case is to be…

In all criminal cases in a court of record, the court or judge trying the case shall by order entered of record provide for the recording verbatim of the evidence and incidents of trial either by a court reporter or by mechanical or electronic devices approved by the court. The e…

A. Except as provided in subsection B, all medical fees expended in the gathering of evidence for all criminal cases where medical evidence is necessary to establish a crime has occurred and for cases involving abuse of children younger than 18 years of age shall be paid by the C…

Each judge of a court of record having jurisdiction over criminal proceedings shall be authorized, in all felony cases and habeas corpus proceedings to appoint a court reporter to report proceedings or to operate mechanical or electrical devices for recording proceedings, to tran…

A. The Virginia Indigent Defense Commission (hereinafter Indigent Defense Commission or Commission) is established. The Commission shall be supervisory and shall have sole responsibility for the powers, duties, operations, and responsibilities set forth in this section. The Commi…

A. The governing body of any county or city may supplement the compensation of the public defender or any of his deputies or employees above the compensation fixed by the executive director, or fund positions, in such amounts as it may deem expedient. Such additional compensation…

The Virginia Indigent Defense Commission shall consist of 14 members as follows: the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice or their designees who shall be members of the Courts of Justice committees; the chairman of the Virginia State Crime Commission …

A. Initial qualification requirements. An attorney seeking to represent an indigent accused in a criminal case, in addition to being a member in good standing of the Virginia State Bar, shall meet the specific criteria required for each type or level of case. The following criter…

Public defender offices are established in: a. The City of Virginia Beach; b. The City of Petersburg; c. The Cities of Buena Vista, Lexington, Staunton, and Waynesboro and the Counties of Augusta and Rockbridge; d. The City of Roanoke; e. The City of Portsmouth; f. The City of Ri…

A. In recognition of the Commonwealth's concern for the victims and witnesses of crime, it is the purpose of this chapter to ensure that the full impact of crime is brought to the attention of the courts of the Commonwealth; that crime victims and witnesses are treated with digni…

A. No law-enforcement officer, as defined in § 9.1-101, shall, in connection with the report, investigation, or prosecution of a criminal violation of state or local law, inquire into the immigration status of any person who (i) reports that he is a victim of the crime or is the …

Any local governmental body which establishes, operates and maintains a crime victim and witness assistance program, whose funding is provided in whole or part by grants administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services pursuant to § 9.1-104, shall operate the program i…

Upon request of any witness in a criminal prosecution under § 18.2-46.2, 18.2-46.3, or 18.2-248 or of any violent felony as defined by subsection C of § 17.1-805, or any crime victim, neither a law-enforcement agency, the attorney for the Commonwealth, the counsel for a defendant…

There is hereby established the Virginia Crime Victim-Witness Fund as a special nonreverting fund to be administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services to support victim and witness services that meet the minimum standards prescribed for such programs under § 19.2-11.…

A. Any Crime Victim and Witness Assistance Program may establish a victim-offender reconciliation program to provide an opportunity after conviction for a victim, at his request and upon the subsequent agreement of the offender, to: 1. Meet with the offender in a safe, controlled…

No person shall, while he is insane or feebleminded, be tried for a criminal offense.

In any case in which a person charged with a crime intends (i) to put in issue his sanity at the time of the crime charged and (ii) to present testimony of an expert to support his claim on this issue at his trial, he, or his counsel, shall give notice in writing to the attorney …

A. If the attorney for the defendant gives notice pursuant to § 19.2-168, and the Commonwealth thereafter seeks an evaluation of the defendant's sanity at the time of the offense, the court shall appoint one or more qualified mental health experts to perform such an evaluation. T…

A. Raising competency issue; appointment of evaluators. — If, at any time after the attorney for the defendant has been retained or appointed and before the end of trial, the court finds, upon hearing evidence or representations of counsel for the defendant or the attorney for th…

A. Upon finding pursuant to subsection E or F of § 19.2-169.1 that the defendant, including a juvenile transferred pursuant to § 16.1-269.1, is incompetent, the court shall order that the defendant receive treatment to restore his competency on an outpatient basis or, if the cour…

A. If, at any time after the defendant is ordered to undergo treatment pursuant to subsection A of § 19.2-169.2, the director of the community services board or behavioral health authority or his designee or the director of the treating inpatient facility or his designee conclude…

A. When a defendant charged with capital murder has been determined to be unrestorably incompetent, pursuant to subsections D and F of § 19.2-169.3, the court may commit such defendant to the inpatient custody of the Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Develop…

A finding of incompetency does not preclude the adjudication, at any time before trial, of a motion objecting to the sufficiency of the indictment, nor does it preclude the adjudication of similar legal objections which, in the court's opinion, may be undertaken without the perso…

A. Raising issue of sanity at the time of offense; appointment of evaluators. -- If, at any time before trial, the court finds, upon hearing evidence or representations of counsel for the defendant, that there is probable cause to believe that the defendant's sanity will be a sig…

A. Any inmate of a local correctional facility may be hospitalized for psychiatric treatment at a hospital designated by the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services as appropriate for treatment of persons under criminal charge if: 1. The court with jurisdicti…

No statement or disclosure by the defendant concerning the alleged offense made during a competency evaluation ordered pursuant to § 19.2-169.1, a mental state at the time of the offense evaluation ordered pursuant to § 19.2-169.5, or treatment ordered pursuant to § 19.2-169.2 or…

A. Whenever a court orders an evaluation pursuant to § 19.2-168.1, 19.2-169.1, or 19.2-169.5 or orders treatment pursuant to § 19.2-169.2 or 19.2-169.6, the clerk of the court shall provide a copy of the order to the appointed evaluator or to the director of the community service…

Prior to any person being placed into the custody of the Commissioner for evaluation or treatment pursuant to §§ 19.2-169.2, 19.2-169.3, 19.2-169.6, 19.2-182.2, and 19.2-182.3, and Chapter 9 (§ 37.2-900 et seq.) of Title 37.2, the court or special justice shall provide the Commis…

Each psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, or other expert appointed by the court to render professional service pursuant to § 19.2-168.1, 19.2-169.1, 19.2-169.5, 19.2-182.8, 19.2-182.9, or 19.2-301 who is not regularly employed by the Commonwealth of Virginia, except by the Unive…

When a court shall have entered any of the orders provided for in § 19.2-168.1, 19.2-169.1, 19.2-169.5, or 19.2-169.6, the sheriff of the county or city or the proper officer of the penal institution shall immediately proceed to ascertain whether a vacancy exists at the proper fa…

When a prisoner whose trial or sentence was suspended by reason of his being found to be insane or feebleminded, has been found to be mentally competent and is brought from a hospital and committed to jail, if already convicted, he shall be sentenced, and if not, the court shall …

A. In any proceeding for commitment under this title, the judge before whom or upon whose order the proceeding is being held shall ascertain if the person whose commitment is sought is represented by counsel. If the person is not represented by counsel, the judge shall appoint an…

If the Department receives written confirmation from a law-enforcement agency or attorney for the Commonwealth that a DNA profile that has been uploaded pursuant to this chapter into any local, state, or national DNA data bank was determined not to be connected to a criminal offe…

A. In addition to the rights provided under Chapter 1.1 (§ 19.2-11.01 et seq.), a victim of sexual assault, a parent or guardian of a victim of a sexual assault who was a minor at the time of the offense, or the next of kin of a deceased victim of sexual assault shall have the ri…

No victim of sexual assault or strangulation shall be charged for the cost of collecting or storing a physical evidence recovery kit, an anonymous physical evidence recovery kit, a trace evidence collection kit, or an anonymous trace evidence collection kit.

A. The Department shall maintain a statewide electronic tracking system for physical evidence recovery kits. The Physical Evidence Recovery Kit Tracking System (the System) will utilize an assigned unique identification number to track each physical evidence recovery kit from its…

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning: "Anonymous physical evidence recovery kit" means a physical evidence recovery kit that is collected from a victim of sexual assault through a forensic medical examination where the victim elects, at the tim…

A. When a victim of sexual assault or strangulation who undergoes a forensic medical examination elects not to report the offense to law enforcement, the health care provider shall inform the victim that the physical evidence recovery kit or trace evidence collection kit shall be…

A. A health care provider may conduct a telehealth sexual assault forensic examination for a victim of sexual assault if a sexual assault forensic examiner is not readily available to conduct an in-person forensic medical examination for the collection of a physical evidence reco…

A. A health care provider that has collected a physical evidence recovery kit from a victim of sexual assault or a trace evidence collection kit from a victim of strangulation who has elected to report the offense shall forthwith notify the law-enforcement agency that such kit ha…

A. A law-enforcement agency that receives a physical evidence recovery kit shall submit the physical evidence recovery kit to the Department for analysis within 60 days of receipt, except under the following circumstances: (i) it is an anonymous physical evidence recovery kit tha…

The failure of a law-enforcement agency to take possession of a physical evidence recovery kit or trace evidence collection kit as provided in this chapter or to submit a physical evidence recovery kit or trace evidence collection kit to the Department within the time period pres…

A. The judge before whom any person is brought for an offense shall, as soon as may be practical, in the presence of such person, examine on oath the witnesses for and against him. Before conducting the hearing or accepting a waiver of the hearing, the judge shall advise the accu…

Upon motion of the attorney for the Commonwealth, preliminary hearings for persons alleged to have participated in contemporaneous and related acts or occurrences or in a series of such acts or occurrences constituting an offense or offenses may be heard jointly if jurisdiction o…

While a witness is under such examination all other witnesses may by order of the judge be excluded from the place of examination and kept separate from each other.