Title 19.2, Criminal Procedure

No judge shall be competent to testify in any criminal or civil proceeding as to any matter which came before him in the course of his official duties. Except as otherwise provided in this section, no clerk of any court, magistrate, or other person having the power to issue warra…

Persons married to each other shall be competent witnesses to testify for or against each other in criminal cases, except as otherwise provided.

In criminal cases, persons married to each other shall be allowed, and, subject to the rules of evidence governing other witnesses, may be compelled to testify in behalf of each other, but neither shall be compelled to be called as a witness against the other, except (i) in the c…

No regular minister, priest, rabbi or accredited practitioner over the age of eighteen years, of any religious organization or denomination usually referred to as a church, shall be required in giving testimony as a witness in any criminal action to disclose any information commu…

A. A person who is a member of a critical incident stress management or peer support team, established pursuant to subdivision A 13 of § 32.1-111.3, shall not disclose nor be compelled to testify regarding any information communicated to him by emergency medical services or publi…

A. As used in this section, unless the context requires a different meaning: "Journalism" means the gathering, preparing, collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing, reporting, or publishing of news or information that concerns local, national, or international events…

A. For the purposes of this section: "Developmental disability" means the same as that term is defined in § 37.2-100. "Intellectual disability" means the same as that term is defined in § 37.2-100. "Mental illness" means a disorder of thought, mood, perception, or orientation tha…

Upon the defendant's first physical appearance for any misdemeanor or felony, the court shall advise the defendant of the following: The outcome of criminal proceedings may have federal immigration and naturalization consequences.

"Witness" as used in this article shall include a person whose testimony is desired in any proceeding or investigation by a grand jury or in a criminal action, prosecution or proceeding. The word "state" shall include any territory of the United States and the District of Columbi…

If a judge of a court of record in any state which by its laws has made provisions for commanding persons within that state to attend and testify in this Commonwealth certifies under the seal of such court (i) that there is a criminal prosecution pending in such court or that a g…

A. Except as provided in subsection B, if at such hearing the judge determines that the witness is material and necessary, that it will not cause undue hardship to the witness to be compelled to attend and testify in the prosecution or grand jury investigation in the other state …

If the certificate recommends that the witness be taken into immediate custody and delivered to an officer of the requesting state to assure his attendance in the requesting state, such judge may, in lieu of notification of the hearing, direct that such witness be forthwith broug…

If the witness who is summoned as above provided, after being paid or tendered by some properly authorized person reimbursement for reasonable travel and lodging expenses as provided in § 2.2-2823 for each day he is required to travel and attend as a witness, fails without good c…

If a person in any state which by its laws has made provision for commanding persons within its borders to attend and testify in criminal prosecutions or grand jury investigations commenced or about to commence in this Commonwealth is a material witness in a prosecution pending i…

If the witness is summoned to attend and testify in this Commonwealth he shall receive such reimbursement for his daily mileage as prescribed in § 2.2-2823 for each day that he is required to travel and attend as a witness. A witness who has appeared in accordance with the provis…

If such witness, after coming into this Commonwealth, fails without good cause to attend and testify as directed in the summons, he shall be punished in the manner provided for the punishment of any witness who disobeys a summons issued from a court of record in this Commonwealth…

If a person comes into this Commonwealth in obedience to a summons directing him to attend and testify in this Commonwealth he shall not while in this Commonwealth pursuant to such summons be subject to arrest or the service of process, civil or criminal, in connection with matte…

This article shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of the states which enact it.

This article may be cited as the "Uniform Act to Secure the Attendance of Witnesses from without a State in Criminal Proceedings."

No person shall be convicted of felony, unless by his confession of guilt in court, or by his plea, or by the verdict of a jury, accepted and recorded by the court, or by judgment of the court trying the case without a jury according to law.

In a prosecution for an offense committed upon, relating to or affecting real estate, or for stealing, embezzling, destroying, injuring or fraudulently receiving or concealing any personal estate it shall be sufficient to prove that when the offense was committed the actual or co…

If a person indicted of a felony be by the jury acquitted of part of the offense charged, he shall be sentenced for such part as he is so convicted of, if the same be substantially charged in the indictment, whether it be felony or misdemeanor. If the verdict be set aside and a n…

On an indictment for felony the jury may find the accused not guilty of the felony but guilty of an attempt to commit such felony, or of being an accessory thereto; and a general verdict of not guilty, upon such indictment, shall be a bar to a subsequent prosecution for an attemp…

When two or more persons are charged and tried jointly, the jury may render a verdict as to any of them as to whom they agree. Thereupon judgment shall be entered according to the verdict; and as to the others the case shall be tried by another jury.

If a person indicted for murder be found by the jury guilty of any punishable homicide, they shall in their verdict fix the degree thereof. The court shall ascertain the extent of the punishment to be inflicted within the bounds prescribed by §§ 18.2-30 to 18.2-36, unless the acc…

In a prosecution for grand larceny, if it be found that the thing stolen is of less value than $1,000, the jury may find the accused guilty of petit larceny.

In a prosecution for petit larceny, though the thing stolen be of the value of $1,000 or more, the jury may find the accused guilty, and upon a conviction under this section or § 19.2-289 the accused shall be sentenced for petit larceny.

When there are several counts in the indictment one or more of which are faulty, the accused may move to strike the faulty count or counts or move the court to instruct the jury to disregard them. If he does neither and a general verdict of guilty is found, judgment shall be ente…

A. The clerk of any circuit court or any district court in the Commonwealth shall report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the division safety official designated pursuant to subsection F of § 22.1-279.8 in the local school division in which the person is employed a…

A person acquitted upon the facts and merits on a former trial, may plead such acquittal in bar of a second prosecution for the same offense, notwithstanding any defect in the form or substance of the indictment or accusation on which he was acquitted, unless the case be for a vi…

A person acquitted of an offense on the ground of a variance between the allegations and the proof of the indictment or other accusation, or upon an exception to the form or substance thereof, may be arraigned again on a new indictment or other proper accusation, and tried and co…

If the same act be a violation of two or more statutes, or of two or more ordinances, or of one or more statutes and also one or more ordinances, conviction under one of such statutes or ordinances shall be a bar to a prosecution or proceeding under the other or others. Furthermo…

Whenever any person is charged with a violation of § 18.2-266 or any similar ordinances of any county, city, or town and with reckless driving in violation of § 46.2-852 or any ordinance of any county, city or town incorporating § 46.2-852, growing out of the same act or acts and…

A. Whenever a person is (i) convicted in a circuit court of any felony and (ii) referred to a probation or parole officer for a report pursuant to § 19.2-299, or for probation supervision, the probation or parole officer shall inquire as to the citizenship of such person. If upon…

A. Within the limits prescribed by law, the court shall ascertain the term of confinement in the state correctional facility or in jail and the amount of fine, if any, when a person is convicted of a criminal offense, unless the accused is tried by a jury and has requested that t…

In cases of trial by jury, upon a finding that the defendant is guilty of a felony or a Class 1 misdemeanor, or upon a finding in the trial de novo of an appealed misdemeanor conviction that the defendant is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor, a separate proceeding limited to the as…

A. At the time the court imposes sentence upon a conviction for any felony offense committed (i) on or after January 1, 1995, the court may, and (ii) on or after July 1, 2000, shall, in addition to any other punishment imposed if such other punishment includes an active term of i…

A. For offenses committed on or after July 1, 2006: 1. At the time the court imposes a sentence upon a conviction for a first violation of subsection A of § 18.2-472.1 the court shall impose an added term of postrelease incarceration of six months. 2. For a second or subsequent v…

Whether by trial or upon a plea of guilty, upon a finding that the defendant is guilty of a felony, the court shall permit the victim, as defined in § 19.2-11.01, upon motion of the attorney for the Commonwealth, to testify in the presence of the accused regarding the impact of t…

A motion to withdraw a plea of guilty or nolo contendere may be made only before sentence is imposed or imposition of a sentence is suspended; but to correct manifest injustice, the court within twenty-one days after entry of a final order may set aside the judgment of conviction…

A. Any person convicted of two or more separate acts of violence when such offenses were not part of a common act, transaction or scheme, and who has been at liberty as defined in § 53.1-151 between each conviction, shall, upon conviction of a third or subsequent act of violence,…

After a finding of guilty, sentence shall be pronounced, or decision to suspend the imposition of sentence shall be announced, without unreasonable delay. Pending pronouncement, the court may commit the accused to jail or may continue or alter the bail except that in those cases …

A. In all felony cases, other than Class 1 felonies, the court shall (i) have presented to it the appropriate discretionary sentencing guidelines worksheets and (ii) review and consider the suitability of the applicable discretionary sentencing guidelines established pursuant to …

A. A trial court presiding in a criminal case may, with the agreement of the defendant and the Commonwealth, after any plea or trial, with or without a determination, finding, or pronouncement of guilt, and notwithstanding the entry of a conviction order, upon consideration of th…

A. When a person is tried in a circuit court (i) upon a charge of assault and battery in violation of § 18.2-57 or 18.2-57.2, stalking in violation of § 18.2-60.3, sexual battery in violation of § 18.2-67.4, attempted sexual battery in violation of § 18.2-67.5, or driving while i…

The presentence report prepared pursuant to § 19.2-299 shall, with the consent of the victim, as defined in § 19.2-11.01, in all cases, include a Victim Impact Statement. A Victim Impact Statement shall be kept confidential and shall be sealed upon entry of the sentencing order. …