Title 19.2, Title 19.2. Criminal Procedure

On the trial of any case of felony or misdemeanor and before any evidence is submitted on either side, the attorney for the Commonwealth and counsel for the accused, respectively, shall have the right to make an opening statement of their case.

During the trial of every criminal case and in all court proceedings attendant to trial, whether before, during or after trial, including any proceedings occurring after an appeal by the defendant or the Commonwealth, at which attendance by the defendant is permitted, whether in …

In the trial of every criminal case, the court, whether a court of record or a court not of record, may upon its own motion and shall upon the motion of either the attorney for the Commonwealth or any defendant, require the exclusion of every witness to be called, including, but …

A. Whenever, in any criminal case it becomes necessary to ascertain what the law, statutory or otherwise, of this Commonwealth, of another state, of the United States, of another country, or of any political subdivision or agency of the same is, or was, at any time, the court sha…

Nolle prosequi shall be entered only in the discretion of the court, upon motion of the Commonwealth with good cause therefor shown.

A. In any criminal prosecution for a felony in a circuit court or for a misdemeanor brought on direct indictment, the attorney for the Commonwealth shall have a duty to adequately and fully provide discovery as provided under Rule 3A:11 of the Rules of the Supreme Court. Rule 3A:…

Notwithstanding any of the provisions of § 19.2-265.1, whenever in a misdemeanor case neither an attorney for the Commonwealth nor any other attorney for the prosecution is present, the complaining witness may be allowed to remain in court throughout the entire trial if necessary…

A. Upon motion of the Commonwealth to dismiss a charge, whether with or without prejudice, and with the consent of the defendant, a court shall grant the motion unless the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the motion was made as the result of (i) bribery or (ii) b…

In the trial of all criminal cases, whether the same be felony or misdemeanor cases, the court may, in its discretion, exclude from the trial any persons whose presence would impair the conduct of a fair trial, provided that the right of the accused to a public trial shall not be…

In any trial upon an indictment charging homicide, the jury or the court may find the accused not guilty of the specific offense charged in the indictment, but guilty of any degree of homicide supported by the evidence for which a lesser punishment is provided by law.

A. Defense motions or objections seeking (i) suppression of evidence on the grounds such evidence was obtained in violation of the provisions of the Fourth, Fifth or Sixth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States or Article I, Section 8, 10 or 11 of the Constitution of…

When the court grants a continuance in advance of the date of a scheduled trial or hearing, if the defendant acknowledges in writing, on a form provided by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court, that he promises to appear in court on the date and time of the …

A. In any case in which a defendant is (i) charged with a felony offense or a Class 1 misdemeanor and (ii) determined to be indigent by the court pursuant to § 19.2-159, the defendant or his attorney may, upon notice to the Commonwealth, move the circuit court to designate anothe…

Sections 8.01-301.1, 8.01-396.1, 8.01-402, 8.01-405, 8.01-407, and 8.01-408 to 8.01-410 shall apply to a criminal as well as a civil case in all respects, except that a witness in a criminal case shall be obliged to attend, and may be proceeded against for failing to do so, altho…

A summons may be issued by a law-enforcement officer during the course of his immediate investigation of an alleged misdemeanor for which an arrest warrant is not required pursuant to § 19.2-81 to any person he reasonably believes was a witness to the offense. The summons shall c…

When a subpoena has been served pursuant to Rule 3A:12 of the Rules of the Supreme Court on a person who is not a party to the action requiring the production of information that is stored in an electronic format, the person shall produce a tangible copy of the information. If a …

In any case of felony or misdemeanor, the accused may be sworn and examined in his own behalf, and if so sworn and examined, he shall be deemed to have waived his privilege of not giving evidence against himself, and shall be subject to cross-examination as any other witness; but…

A witness in a criminal case may be cross-examined as to previous statements made by him in writing or reduced into writing, relative to the subject matter of the proceeding, without such writing being shown to him; but if it is intended to contradict such witness by the writing,…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any prosecution for criminal sexual assault under Article 7 (§ 18.2-61 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, a violation of §§ 18.2-361, 18.2-366, 18.2-370 or § 18.2-370.1, the fact that the person injured made complaint of the offens…

A. As used in this section, "offense against children" means a violation or an attempt to violate § 18.2-31, 18.2-32, or 18.2-35, subsection A of § 18.2-47, § 18.2-48, 18.2-51, 18.2-51.2, 18.2-51.6, 18.2-52, 18.2-54.1, 18.2-54.2, 18.2-61, 18.2-67.1, 18.2-67.2, or 18.2-67.3, § 18.…

A. For purposes of this section: "Law-enforcement officer" means the same as that term is defined in § 9.1-101. "Notice" means written notice given in person or by certified mail or trackable courier service with signature requirement. "Witness impeachment evidence designation" m…

A person convicted of a felony or perjury shall not be incompetent to testify, but the fact of conviction may be shown in evidence to affect his credit.

Whenever the Commonwealth or a defendant in a criminal prosecution in any circuit court in this Commonwealth requires as a witness in his behalf, an inmate in a state or local correctional facility as defined in § 53.1-1, the court, on the application of such defendant or his att…

During any criminal proceeding, upon motion of the defendant or the attorney for the Commonwealth, a judge may prohibit testimony as to the current residential or business address, any telephone number, or email address of a victim or witness if the judge determines that this inf…

In a criminal prosecution, other than for perjury, or in an action on a penal statute, evidence shall not be given against the accused of any statement made by him as a witness upon a legal examination, in a criminal or civil action, unless such statement was made when examined a…

In any prosecution for larceny under the provisions of §§ 18.2-95, 18.2-96 or § 18.2-98, or for shoplifting under the provisions of § 18.2-103, or for burglary under the provisions of §§ 18.2-89, 18.2-90, 18.2-91 or § 18.2-92, photographs of the goods, merchandise, money or secur…

When computer data or electronic data, stored in any form, the possession of which is otherwise unlawful, are seized as evidence in a criminal prosecution of any offense involving obscenity or child pornography, neither the original data nor a copy thereof shall be released to th…

A. When in the course of investigation or arrest, the investigating or arresting officer shall seize or come into the possession of moneys, cash, or negotiable or nonnegotiable instruments or securities, hereinafter called "moneys or securities," taken or retained unlawfully from…

In any prosecution under § 18.2-181 or § 18.2-182 for the presentation of a bad check, draft or order, the following shall be admissible in any proceeding, hearing or trial of the case: 1. The unpaid or dishonored check, draft or order, bearing a notation thereon of the full name…

A. Except as provided in § 19.2-270.4:1 and unless objection with sufficient cause is made, the trial court in any criminal case may order the donation or destruction of any or all exhibits received in evidence during the course of the trial (i) in any misdemeanor case, at any ti…

A. Notwithstanding any provision of law or rule of court, upon motion of a person convicted of a felony or his attorney of record to the circuit court that entered the judgment for the offense, the court shall order the storage, preservation, and retention of specifically identif…

In any criminal proceeding, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) testing shall be deemed to be a reliable scientific technique and the evidence of a DNA profile comparison may be admitted to prove or disprove the identity of any person. This section shall not otherwise limit the introduct…

In any criminal prosecution alleging personal injury or death, or the attempt to cause personal injury or death, relevant evidence of repeated physical and psychological abuse of the accused by the victim shall be admissible, subject to the general rules of evidence.

A law-enforcement officer may use equipment deemed proper pursuant to subsection C of § 2.2-1112 to determine the decibel level of any sound, including noise. The results of such determinations shall be accepted as prima facie evidence of the decibel level of the sound in any cou…

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…