Chap. 196.—An ACT to add a new section to the charter of the city of Rad-
ford, to be known as section 70, in relation to a civil and police justice,
providing for his election or appointment and qualifications, describing his
powers, duties, jurisdiction, term of office and compensation, and repealing
all acts and parts of acts and all charter provisions in conflict ner a

Approved March 16, 1920.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That a
new section be added to the charter of the city of Radford, to be
known as section number seventy, in relation to a civil and police
justice, providing for his election or appointment and qualifications, and
describing his powers, duties, jurisdiction, term of office and compen-
sation, said section to read as follows:

Sec. 70. 1. Civil and police justice; election and term.—The city
council shall, in the month of September, nineteen hundred and twenty,
and biennially thereafter, elect a special justice of the peace, to be
known as the civil and police justice, who shall hold office for the
term of two years from the first day of October ensuing his election
and until his successor 1s duly elected and qualified, unless sooner re-
moved from office. | ]

2. Qualifications.——Such civil and police justice, at the time of his
election and during his term of office, shall reside in the city, and
shall not, during the said term, hold any other office of public trust.

3. Oath and bond.—Such civil and police justice, before entering
upon the performance of his duties, shall take the official oath re-
quired by State law, before the corporation court of the city, or the
judge thereof in vacation. He shall also enter into bond in the penalty
of two thousand dollars before said corporation court or the judge
thereof, with surety to be approved by said court or judge, and con-
ditioned for the faithful performance of his duties as civil and police
justice.

4. Compensation.—Such civil and police justice shall receive such
salary as the city council may determine, to be paid in monthly or
semi-monthly installments, out of the treasury of the city, and he
shall receive no other compensation for his services as such civil or
police justice. His salary shall not be increased or diminished during
his term of office.

5. Daily sessions; substitute—The court of such civil and police
justice shall be kept open for the transaction of business every day in
the year, except Sundays and legal holidays. The city council may
appoint as substitute civil and police justice a person, residing in the
city, and may at any time revoke such appointment, and may make a
new appointment in the event of such revocation, or of the death,
absence, or disability of such substitute civil and police justice. In
the event of the inability of the civil and police justice to perform
the duties of his office by reason of sickness, absence, vacation, in-
terest in the claim, proceedings, or parties before his court or other-
wise, such substitute civil and police justice shall perform the duties
of the office during such absence or disability, and shall receive for
his services a per diem compensation equivalent to one-twentieth of a
monthly installment of the salary of the civil and police justice, pay-
able out of the treasury of the city; and the city council may, from
time to time, determine whether or not such compensation shall be
deducted from the salary of the civil and police justice. While acting
as such, either the civil and police justice or the substitute civil and
police justice may perform all acts with reference to the proceedings
and judgments of the other in any warrant, claim or proceedings before
the court of the civil and police justice in the same manner and with
the same force and effect as if they were his own.

6. Jurisdiction—The jurisdiction of the civil and police justice
shall be as follows:

(a) The said civil and police justice shall be a conservator of the
peace within the corporate limits of the city, and for one mile beyond
said corporate limits, and within such limits shall have exclusive orig-
inal jurisdiction for the trial of all offenses against the ordinances
of the city, and shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the corporation
court of the city in all cases of violations of the revenue and election
laws of the State, except the law with reference to intoxicating liquors
and of all offenses arising under the provisions of chapter one hun-
dred and eighty-seven and of sections thirty-eight hundred and one,
thirty-eight hundred and two and thirty-eight hundred and three of the
Code of Virginia, and, except when it is otherwise specially provided,
shall have exclusive original jurisdiction for the trial of all other mis-
demeanor cases occurring within his jurisdiction; in all of which cases
the punishment may be the same as the mayor of said city or the cor-
poration court of said city is authorized to impose.

(b) In civil matters the jurisdiction of the civil and police justice
shall be that of justices of the peace for counties. :

No other justice of the peace in the city shall, after September
thirtieth, nineteen hundred and twenty, exercise such criminal or civil
jurisdiction as is herein conferred on said civil and police justice,
except as provided in this act. ‘

7. Issue of warrants—A warrant within the jurisdiction con-
ferred by this act upon the civil and police justice shall be issued
by him and returnable only before him.

8. Costs and fees.—The civil and police justice shall collect all
costs and other fees required by law to be paid, and, at or before the
time of hearing had before him on any claim of which he is given
jurisdiction by sub-section (b) of section six of this act, the plaintiff
in such claim shall pay to the civil and police justice a trial fee of
fifty cents for each hundred dollars of value, or fraction thereof,
claimed in the warrant. The trial fee shall be taxed as part of the
costs. The civil and police justice shall pay monthly into the treasury
of the city all costs, trial fees and other fees collected by him. Al
fines paid to the said civil and police justice for violation of State
law shall be accounted for by him as required by law.

9, Procedure.—All procedure in claims and proceedings of which
the civil and police justice is given jurisdiction by sub-section (b) of
section six of this act, except so far as herein otherwise provided,
shall conform to the chapter of the State law concerning warrants for
small claims ; except that on motion of either party the adverse party
may be required to file the particulars of the claim or the grounds of
the defense, as provided in section thirty-two hundred and forty-nine
of the Code of Virginia, and except that the proceedings in a cause
wherein an infant or insane person is a party shall not be stayed
because of such infancy or insanity, but the civil and police justice
shall appoint some discreet and competent attorney at law as guardian
ad litem to such infant or insane defendant, whether such defendant
shall have been served with process or not; or, if no such attorney
be found willing to act, the civil and police justice shall appoint some
other discreet and proper person as guardian ad litem, who shall
faithfully represent the interest or estate of the infant or insane person
for whom he is appointed; but the said guardian ad litem so appointed
shall not be liable-for costs. The civil and police justice rendering any
judgment may issue a writ of fieri facias thereon immediately, if there
be not a new trial granted, nor an appeal allowed, nor a stay of execu-
tion; and the civil and police justice may, from time to time, renew
such writ either before or after the expiration of one year from the
date of the judgment. ,

10. Appeals and removals.—In all misdemeanors triable before
such civil and police justice under the provisions of this act, there
shall be an appeal from his judgment to the corporation court of the
city, as now or hereafter provided by law for appeals from the judg-
ments of justices of the peace of counties. An appeal may be taken to
said corporation court of the city from the judgment of said civil
and police justice imposing a penalty for any infraction of a city
ordinance, except in cases where the penalty imposed is a fine not
exceeding ten dollars, in which case it shall be final. In no civil cases
triable before such civil and police justice shall a removal to any other
court be allowed, but in all cases over twenty dollars, exclusive of in-
terest, there shall be an appeal of right to the corporation court of the
city, and all such appeals shall be tried and judgment rendered as
provided by section twenty-nine hundred and fifty-seven of the Code
of Virginia, but no appeal shall be granted unless and until the party
applying for the same has given bond, with sufficient surety, to be ap-
proved by the said civil and police justice, to abide the judgment of
the court upon the appeal. The clerk of said corporation court of
the city, upon receipt of the papers in any such appeal case, shall,
upon payment of the writ tax, forthwith docket such cases in its
regular order; but, if said writ tax be not so paid within thirty days
from the date of the judgment, the said appeal shall thereunder stand
dismissed and said judgment shall become final, and the said papers,
upon application of any party in interest, shall be returned to the
said civil and police justice by the clerk of the said corporation court
of the city. Appeal cases shall not have preference over other cases
Pending in such corporation court of the city, as regards the time
of trial. _

11. Dismissal of claims; docket.—If any claim of which the civil
and police justice is given jurisdiction by sub-section (b) of section
six of this act shall have been pending before such civil and police
justice sixty days, he shall notify the parties that the same will be
dismissed in ten days thereafter unless good cause be shown to the
contrary, and, unless such cause be shown, such civil and police jus.
tice shall forthwith dismiss such claim.

The said civil and police justice shall keep a docket in whict
shall be entered all cases tried and prosecuted before him and _ the
final disposition of the same.

All papers connected with any of the proceedings in the trial o!
cases before such civil and police justice, except such as may be re.
moved on appeal, and except also such papers in criminal matter:
as are required by law to be returned to and lodged in the clerk’s office
of the corporation court of the city, shall be properly reduced and filec
and preserved.

12. Rules of practice——The said civil and police justice shall have
the power to make and enforce such reasonable rules of practice a:
are not in conflict with law.

13. Court-room, books and stationery.—The city council shall pro-
vide a suitable court-room for such civil and police justice, and shall
furnish all necessary furniture, books and stationery. Such books shall
be under the control of the civil and police justice, and shall remain
the property of the city.

14. Removal from office—The said civil and police justice may
be removed or suspended from office by the corporation court of the
city for malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetency, gross neglect of off-
cial duty, or corruption in office. All proceedings for such removal
or suspension shall be by order of and on motion before the proper
court, upon reasonable notice to the said civil and police justice to be
affected thereby. Any such officer shall have the right to demand a
trial by jury.

15. Vacancy.—Any vacancy occurring in the office of civil and
police justice shall be filled by the city council by election of a person
with the qualifications prescribed in section two of this act.

16. Acts in conflict repealed.—All acts and parts of acts and all
charter provisions in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.