Courts not of Record

P Passed

P HB712
Serious or Habitual Offender Comprehensive Action Program (SHOCAP). Allows persons committed to the state who are being supervised by SHOCAP on their eighteenth birthday to continue to be supervised until age 21.
Patron - Dillard

P HB1583
Removal of action involving more than $3,000. Provides that when the amount in controversy in an action in a general district court exceeds the sum of $ 3,000, the judge shall remove the case to circuit court if the defendant states a substantial defense to the action exclusive of the sole issue of the amount or computation of damages. Current law allows removal for any substantial defense without regard to amount or computation of damages.
Patron - Woodrum

P HB1637
Number of district court judges. Increases the number of general district court judges in Newport News (Seventh Judicial District) from three to four and the number of juvenile and domestic relations district court judges in the following judicial districts by one each, namely: Second (Virginia Beach); Fifteenth (Fredericksburg, King George, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline, Hanover, Lancaster, Northumberland, Westmoreland, Richmond, Essex); Sixteenth (Charlottesville, Madison, Greene, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Goochland, Louisa, Orange, Culpeper); Twenty-fourth (Lynchburg, Bedford, Nelson, Amherst, Campbell, Bedford County); Twenty-fifth (Covington, Lexington, Staunton, Buena Vista, Clifton Forge, Waynesboro, Highland, Augusta, Rockbridge, Bath, Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig); and Twenty-sixth (Harrisonburg, Winchester, Frederick, Clarke, Warren, Shenandoah, Page, Rockingham).
Patron - Almand

P HB1865
Satisfaction of judgments in courts not of record. Requires a judgment creditor to give written notification of satisfaction or payment to the clerk of the court where the judgment was entered. This provision is similar to the process of satisfaction of judgments in circuit court.
Patron - McQuigg

P HB2008
Definition of "child in need of supervision." Requires that a child desert or run away on more than one occasion in order to be found a "child in need of supervision." The bill also requires that school systems provide the court with documentation of compliance with the procedures relating to when a pupil fails to report to school (§ 22.1-258).
Patron - Cantor

P HB2033
Definition of family abuse. Redefines "family abuse" to mean any act involving violence, force, or threat, rather than the current "act of violence" which causes or results in any forceful detention or physical injury or places a person in reasonable apprehension of serious bodily injury and which is committed by a person against a family or household member.
Patron - Moran

P HB2034
Intake; petition; investigation. Requires a juvenile and domestic relations district court intake officer to accept and file a petition when family abuse is alleged and a protective order is sought.
Patron - Moran

P HB2043
Juvenile competency. Establishes juvenile court procedures for determining whether a juvenile is competent to stand trial, for restoration of competency and for dispositions for unrestorably incompetent juveniles. A juvenile's competency is presumed; however, the Commonwealth's attorney, defense counsel or judge can raise the issue of competency. The Commissioner of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services is to approve the training and qualifications of professionals who perform the evaluations and provide restoration services. Evaluations are to be performed on an outpatient basis whenever possible. If the juvenile is otherwise able to understand the charges against him and assist in his defense, a finding of incompetency cannot be made based solely on his age or developmental factors, his claim to be unable to remember the time period surrounding the alleged offense or the fact that he is under the influence of medication. Incompetent juveniles must receive restoration services. If the juvenile is likely to remain incompetent for the foreseeable future, the court shall order that the juvenile be committed, certified, the subject of a child in need of supervision petition, or released. The bill is modeled after the adult competency provisions and is a recommendation of the Commission on Youth pursuant to HJR 69 (1998). This bill is identical to SB 1039.
Patron - Jones, J.C.

P HB2076
Salaries of substitute and retired judges. Increases from $150 to $200 the compensation for attorneys serving as substitute judges in the district courts of the Commonwealth and for retired judges temporarily recalled.
Patron - Dickinson

P HB2297
Notice of judicial vacancies. Requires the Supreme Court, Judicial Council and the Committee on District Courts to publish notice of judicial vacancies and the creation of new judgeships in a publication of general circulation among attorneys licensed to practice in the Commonwealth.
Patron - Almand

P HB2604
Time limitations for hearings involving juveniles. Tolls the time limitations provided for certain hearings involving a juvenile during any period in which (i) the whereabouts of the child are unknown, (ii) the child has escaped from custody, or (iii) the child has failed to appear pursuant to a court order.
Patron - Baker

P SB885
Juvenile delinquents; gangs. Allows the court to require a juvenile found delinquent based on certain crimes to participate in a gang-activity prevention program funded under the Virginia Juvenile Community Crime Control Act and requires that transfer reports and social history reports include an assessment of affiliation with a youth gang.
Patron - Mims

P SB896
Regional juvenile detention commissions. Allows the Crater Youth Care Commission, which serves the Sixth and Eleventh Judicial Districts, to borrow funds and issue revenue bonds as provided under § 16.1-318. This is emergency legislation.
Patron - Holland

P SB966
Juvenile offenses. Expands the offenses for which an intake officer, upon the filing of a petition, and the clerk of the court, upon adjudication of delinquency or a conviction, must notify the superintendent of the school division in which the child is enrolled or was enrolled at the time of the offense. The offenses added are robbery and violations dealing with illegal weapons, including the Uniform Machine Gun Act and the "Sawed-off" Shotgun and "Sawed-off" Rifle Act.
Patron - Reynolds

P SB1014
Child custody; entrustments, termination of parental rights. Revises provisions relating to entrustments, relief of custody, foster care, termination of parental rights, acceptance and control over children and accepting children for placement. Two new Code sections separate the handling of petitions for approval of entrustment agreements and petitions for relief of care and custody, clarify the procedural and substantive requirements related to filing such petitions, and make uniform with other provisions the treatment of children who come into foster care through these proceedings. The bill establishes several new procedural requirements. The agency to which a child is entrusted must file no later than the last day of the entrustment period for approval of an agreement for fewer than 90 days, if the child does not go home within the entrustment period. A foster care plan must be filed for a hearing pursuant to § 16.1-281 with any petition for approval of an entrustment agreement. A guardian ad litem is appointed to represent the child, and the matter is set for a hearing within 45 days. The new standard for the court's approval is that the entrustment agreement is in the best interests of the child. Entry of an order approving a permanent entrustment agreement has the effect of terminating the parent's rights and renders irrevocable the permanent entrustment agreement. An Adoption Progress Report, outlining the agency's progress toward finalizing a child's adoption, is required in all parental rights termination cases. The guardian ad litem appointment continues in juvenile court until a final order of adoption is entered. Prior to the first hearing, a petition for relief of care and custody of a child must be referred to the local department of social services for investigation and provision of any appropriate services, to prevent out-of-home placement. Notice to a parent who is not a petitioner for permanent relief of care and custody of a child and termination of parental rights must be provided and termination of that parent's parental rights must be pursuant to § 16.1-283. The petitioner must establish good cause for relief of care and custody of a child. Several additional dispositional alternatives are available to the court in handling a petition for relief of care and custody. If the court makes a finding but does not dispose of the matter at the first hearing, a dispositional hearing must be held within 75 days of the initial hearing. An appeal may be taken from a final order. The bill is proposed by the Court Improvement Program of the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court and is recommended by the Judicial Council.
Patron - Gartlan

P SB1039
Juvenile competency. Establishes juvenile court procedures for determining whether a juvenile is competent to stand trial, for restoration of competency and for dispositions for unrestorably incompetent juveniles. A juvenile's competency is presumed; however, the Commonwealth's attorney, defense counsel or judge can raise the issue of competency. The Commissioner of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services is to approve the training and qualifications of professionals who perform the evaluations and provide restoration services. Evaluations are to be performed on an outpatient basis whenever possible. If the juvenile is otherwise able to understand the charges against him and assist in his defense, a finding of incompetency cannot be made based solely on his age or developmental factors, his claim to be unable to remember the time period surrounding the alleged offense or the fact that he is under the influence of medication. Incompetent juveniles must receive restoration services. If the juvenile is likely to remain incompetent for the foreseeable future, the court shall order that the juvenile be committed, certified, the subject of a child in need of services petition, or released. The bill is modeled after the adult competency provisions and is a recommendation of the Commission on Youth pursuant to HJR 69 (1998). This bill is identical to HB 2043.
Patron - Forbes

P SB1178
Experimental family courts. Repeals sections enacted in 1989 that established the experimental family courts. There are no longer any such courts, and all appeals from such courts are completed.
Patron - Puckett

P SB1216
Release of information on juvenile criminal charges. Provides that whenever a juvenile 14 years of age or older is charged with a delinquent act that, if committed by an adult, would be a felony involving a weapon, a violation of Article 2 (§ 18.2-38 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2 (mob offenses) or of Article 1 (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2 (drug offenses), the judge may, where consideration of the public interest requires, make the juvenile's name and address available to the public. Current law covers, in such circumstances, only an "act of violence" as defined in subsection A of § 19.2-297.1.
Patron - Forbes

F Failed

F HB1461
When and how child may be taken into immediate custody. Provides that upon order of the J&DR judge, a child may be taken into immediate custody to guarantee his attendance in court pursuant to a lawful subpoena.
Patron - Woodrum

F HB1660
Court-appointed attorney fees. Raises the cap from $100 to $120 for representation in district court and from $132 to $158 for representation in circuit court defending a misdemeanor punishable by confinement in jail or a charge of violation of probation for such an offense. The cap is raised from $100 to $158 for representing juveniles in circuit court when counsel is appointed for a juvenile pursuant to § 16.1-266 A or B (guardian ad litem, detention review or adjudicatory or transfer hearing).
Patron - Almand

F HB1931
Summonses following filing of petition. Requires the court to notify only one parent that a petition has been filed concerning a juvenile. The Court of Appeals held in Baker v. Commonwealth that the statute required both parents to be notified. This bill has been incorporated into HB 1931.
Patron - Cantor

F HB2602
Jurisdiction over certain criminal matters; waiver; objection. Clarifies the jurisdiction of the general district and circuit courts over certain criminal matters (e.g., felony charges against any child 14 years of age or older; offenses involving family or household members; offenses against the person of a child). The bill also gives both the accused and the victim the right to remove an offense involving a family or household member to the juvenile court. The bill also removes (i) the provision in the juvenile court's jurisdiction over family or household member crimes which requires an objection to the court's jurisdiction be made before jeopardy attaches or the objection is waived conclusively and (ii) the provision of the transfer statute which requires objection to jurisdiction of the circuit court prior to arraignment.
Patron - Baker

F HB2603
Summonses following filing of petition. Requires the court to notify only one parent that a petition has been filed concerning a juvenile. The Court of Appeals held in Baker v. Commonwealth that the statute required both parents to be notified.
Patron - Baker

F HB2737
Commonwealth's costs of construction, etc. Requires the Commonwealth to reimburse any county, city or any combination thereof, one-half the actual cost of construction, enlargement, renovation, purchase or rental of a detention home or other facilities. This bill is the same as SB 1032.
Patron - McDonnell

F HB2738
Apportionment of funds for secure detention; standards for apportionment. Allows the Department to adjust the apportionment for differences in the relative cost of living within the localities or region where such programs and facilities are located and requires the apportionments to be based on the actual occupancy of the facility rather than the rated capacity of the facility. This bill is identical to SB 981.
Patron - McDonnell

F SB945
When and how child may be taken into immediate custody. Provides that a child may be taken into immediate custody to guarantee his attendance in court pursuant to a lawful subpoena after the court enters an order finding that the attendance of the child is necessary to protect the constitutional rights of the accused.
Patron - Edwards

F SB981
Apportionment of funds for secure detention; standards for apportionment. Allows the Department to adjust the apportionment for differences in the relative cost of living within the localities or regions where such programs and facilities are located and requires the apportionments to be based on the actual occupancy of the facility rather than the rated capacity of the facility. This bill is identical to HB 2738.
Patron - Stolle

F SB1032
Commonwealth's costs of construction, etc. Requires the Commonwealth to reimburse any county, city or any combination thereof, one-half the actual cost of construction, enlargement, renovation, purchase or rental of a detention home or other facilities. This bill is the same as HB 2737.
Patron - Stolle

F SB1313
Underage purchase or possession of tobacco or alcohol. Punishes the underage purchase or possession of alcohol or tobacco consistently with regard to driver's license suspension, as follows: loss of license for one year for a first offense, two years for a second offense, and five years for a third offense.
Patron - Potts

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