Magistrates and any other personnel in the office of the magistrate shall be appointed by the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia in consultation with the chief judges of the circuit courts having jurisdiction within the region. Each magistrate shall be appointed to serve one or more of the magisterial regions created by the Executive Secretary. Each magisterial region shall be comprised of one or more judicial districts. The Executive Secretary shall have full supervisory authority over the magistrates so appointed. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the only methods for the selection of magistrates shall be as set out in this section.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 19.2-35

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Court: means any court vested with appropriate jurisdiction under the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 19.2-5
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230

No person shall be appointed under this section until he has submitted his fingerprints to be used for the conduct of a national criminal records search and a Virginia criminal history records search. No person with a criminal conviction for a felony shall be appointed as a magistrate.

Code 1950, § 19.1-383; 1973, c. 545; 1974, c. 484; 1975, c. 495; 1976, c. 138; 1981, c. 4; 1988, c. 511; 2002, c. 310; 2004, cc. 370, 452; 2008, cc. 551, 691.

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