Chap. 272.—An ACT to provide for the appointment of trial justices in counties
adjoining cities in the State of Virginia having a population of one hundred and
seventy thousand or more; to provide for the appointment of clerks for such
trial justices; and to rescribe the terms of office, jurisdiction, duties and com-

nsation of such trial justices and clerks; and to prohibit and provide penalties
or alteration or failure to serve process issued by such trial justices ae clerks.

B 173]
Approved March 15, 1924.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That in every
county of this Commonwealth adjoining a city lying wholly within the
State of Virginia, such city having a population of one hundred and
seventy thousand or more, as shown by the last preceding United States
census, there shall be appointed, in the manner and for the term herein-
after prescribed, a trial justice for each of such counties.

2. In counties where a trial justice and substitute trial justice shall
have been heretofore appointed under and in pursuance of chapter
three hundred and eighty-eight of the acts of the general assembly of
nineteen hundred and twenty-two, approved March twenty-fourth,
nineteen hundred and twenty-two, such trial justice shall serve without
further appointment or qualification as trial justice for such county
under the provisions of this act until the expiration of his present term
of office on the thirty-first day of December, nineteen hundred and
twenty-four, inclusive, and such substitute trial justice shall serve as
substitute trial justice for such county under the provisions of this act
until the revocation of his appointment as hereinafter provided.

3. During the month of July, nineteen hundred and twenty-four,
and of every fourth year thereafter, the board of supervisors of such
county shall nominate for the position of trial justice under the provi-
sions of this act one or more suitable and qualified persons and shall
certify the name or names of such nominee or nominees to the judge of
the circuit court of such county, who shall, within ten days and either
in term time or vacation, appoint such nominee or one of such nominees
as trial justice or notify the board of supervisors, in writing, of his dis-
approval of its nomination or nominations, in which event the said board
of supervisors shall, within thirty days, furnish additional nomination
or nominations to the judge of said court, who, within ten days, shall
appoint or disapprove as before, and so on until an appointment be
made,

4. The terms of office of trial justices appointed under section three
of this act shall be for four years, commencing on the first day of Jan-
uary, nineteen hundred and twenty-five, and on the first day of January
of every fourth year thereafter. Any vacancy occurring in the office of
trial justice, after appointment, shall be filled for the unexpired term by
the judge of the circuit court of such county upon such nomination as is
required by section three of this act for the appointment of a trial justice
for a regular term of office, and such nomination may be made imme-
diately upon the occurrence of such vacancy or at any time during its
continuance.

5. The jurisdiction of such trial justice shall be as follows:

(a) The said trial justice shall have exclusive original jurisdiction
for the trial of all offenses against the by-laws or ordinances of said
county for which he is appointed.
(b). In criminal cases the Jurisdiction of such trial Justice shall be
the same, within the limits of his county, as that now provided by chap-
ter one hundred and twenty-three of the Code of Virginia or which may
be hereafter provided for police justices of cities.

(c) In civil cases the jurisdiction of such trial justice shall be the
same, within the limits of his county, as that provided by chapter one
hundred and twenty-four of the Code of Virginia or which may be here-
after provided for civil and police justices and civil justices of cities.

6. All the provisions of law now in force, or which may be hereafter
enacted, governing preliminary examinations, granting of bail procedure
and appeals i in both civil and criminal cases cognizable by justices of the
peace of counties not affected by this act shall apply in ike manner to
cases tried before the trial justices appointed hereunder, unless other-
wise provided herein, except that in civil cases triable before such trial
justice no removal to any other court shall be allowed.

7. Any trial justice acting hereunder may appoint a clerk who shall
be designated in process issued by him as clerk of the trial justice court,
and who shall hold his office at the pleasure of said trial justice. Such
clerk shall keep the docket and accounts of such trial justice and shall
discharge such other duties as may be prescribed by said trial justice.

8. When such clerk so appointed shall have qualified as hereinafter
provided, he shall be a justice of the peace of the county for which he is
appointed and vested with all the powers and authority and subject to
all the duties and liabilities of a justice of the peace, except where in-
consistent herewith.

Such clerk shall issue all warrants and other civil process returnable
before such trial justice under section two hundred and twenty-three
and section two hundred and fifty of the Code of Virginia, and all war-
rants for violation of the ordinances or by-laws of such county and all
subpoenas for witnesses or other process in connection with the viola-
tion of such ordinances or by-laws, and no such warrants, subpoenas or
other process above mentioned shall be hereafter issued by any other
officer; except that where the plaintiff in a civil warrant is a resident of
such county but neither resides nor has an office or regular place of
business within ten miles of the county seat, such civil warrant and sub-
poenas for witnesses thereunder may be issued by one of the other jus-
tices of the peace of such county. The said clerk shall have concurrent
jurisdiction with the other justices of the peace of his county to issue
warrants in criminal cases and subpoenas for witnesses in such cases,
and to admit to bail persons charged with criminal offenses or violations
of such ordinances or by-laws.

9. The circuit court of such county or the judge thereof in vacation,
shall appoint a substitute trial justice, and may at any time revoke
such appointment of any substitute trial justice acting hereunder, and
shall make a new appointment in the event of such revocation, or of
the death, absence or disability of such substitute trial justice. In
the event of the inability of the trial justice to perform the duties of his
office by reason of sickness, absence, vacation, interest in the claim, pro-
ceedings or. parties before his court, or otherwise, such trial justice shall
perform the duties of the office during such inability, and shall receive
for his services a per diem compensation equivalent to one twenty-fifth
of a monthly installment of the salary of the trial justice, payable out of
the treasury of the county; and the board of supervisors may, from time
to time, determine whether or not such compensation shall be deducted
from the salary of the trial justice, except that no such deduction shall
be made on account of absence during one half of the vacation period
of not more than one month herein provided. While acting as such,
the trial justice or the substitute trial justice may perform all acts with
reference to the proceedings and judgments of the other in any warrant,
claim or proceeding before the court of the trial justice in the same
manner and with the same force and effect as if they were his own.

10. The said clerk on every day in the year except Saturdays, Sun-
days and legal holidays, shall remain at the quarters assigned him from
nine o’clock, ante meridian, until five o’clock, post meridian, for the
transaction of business, with the exception of one hour to be designated
by the trial justice. On such Saturdays as are not legal holidays, the
clerk shall remain at such quarters from nine o’clock, ante meridian,
until two o’clock, post meridian. The trial justice may at any time re-
quire longer hours of service or such additional services of the clerk as
he may deem necessary for the convenient dispatch of business. The
clerk shall be allowed annually a vacation period of two weeks. In the
event of the disability of the clerk to perform the duties of his office by
reason of sickness, absence, vacation or otherwise, the trial justice may
appoint a substitute clerk who shall perform all the duties of the office
during such inability and shall receive for his services a per diem com-
pensation equivalent to one twenty-fifth of a monthly installment of the
salary of the clerk, payable out of the treasury of the county; and the
board of supervisors may from time to time determine whether or not
such compensation shall be deducted from the salary of the clerk, except
that no such reduction shall be made on account of absence during the
vacation period of two weeks herein provided. While acting as such
the clerk or substitute clerk may perform all acts with reference to the
proceedings or duties of the other in the same manner and with the same
effect as if they were his own.

11. Before entering upon the performance of his duties the trial
justice, substitute trial justice, clerk and substitute clerk shall take the
oaths prescribed by law and shall each enter into bond in the penalty
of five hundred dollars before the circuit court, or the clerk thereof, with
surety to be approved by said court or clerk, and conditioned for the
faithful performance of his duties.

12. The trial justice shall receive a salary to be fixed by the board
of supervisors at not less than twenty-five hundred dollars per annum
nor more than thirty-six hundred dollars per annum, and the clerk shall
receive a salary to be fixed in like manner at not less than eighteen hun-
dred dollars per annum nor more than twenty-four hundred dollars per
annum. Such salaries shall be paid in monthly instalments out of the
treasury of the county, and neither the trial justice nor clerk shall re-
ceive any other compensation, either directly or indirectly, for his ser-
vices as such. The trial justice and clerk shall charge and collect from
litigants and defendants all the fees which justices of the peace for coun-
ties not affected by this act are authorized to charge and collect, and
the fees now paid out of the State treasury to the justices of the peace
for issuing criminal warrants, and in civil cases the trial justice shall
charge and collect for every second or subsequent continuance of the
case a fee of fifty cents, to be paid, at the time such continuance is
granted, by the party on whose motion or at whose request such con-
tinuance is granted, but such continuance fee shall not be taxed as a
part of the costs of such case.

Out of all such fees collected, the officers’ fees shall first be paid, and
the balance, including fees for admitting to bail persons accused of
criminal offenses or of violation of ordinances or by-laws, and all other
fees and charges of every character, shall be paid monthly into the
county treasury. The trial justice and clerk may make a joint report
in detail of the fees collected by them respectively.

13. The board of supervisors shall provide suitable quarters for the
court of such trial justice and for said clerk at the county seat, and shall
provide all necessary books, stationery and supplies for each of such
officers. Such books and supplies shall be under the control of the trial
justice and shall remain the property of the county.

14. The court of such trial justice shall be opened for the transac-
tion of business every day in the year except Sundays and legal holidays.
If any claim shall have been pending before such trial justice thirty
days, he shall notify the parties or their attorneys that the same will
be dismissed in ten days thereafter unless good cause be shown to the
contrary, and unless such cause be shown, the trial justice shall forth-
with dismiss such warrant. The trial justice shall keep a docket in
which shall be entered all causes tried and prosecuted before him and
the final disposition of the same, together with an account of the costs
and fines and such docket shall at all times be open to public inspection.
All papers connected with any of the proceedings in the trial of cases
before the trial justice, except such as may relate to cases appealed or
such warrants in criminal cases as may be by general law required to be
sooner returned to the clerk’s office of the circuit court, shall remain in
the office of the trial justice or of the clerk appointed by him hereunder
for three years after final judgment by the trial justice, and executions
and additional executions in such proceedings may be issued by
the trial justice at any time during such period of three years.
At the end of such period, such papers shall be returned to the clerk’s
office of the circuit court of the county, and shall be properly filed, in-
dexed and preserved by the clerk, who shall receive the same fees as are
allowed for receiving, filing and indexing papers returned by justices of
the peace. Any warrant, subpoena, summons or other process issued
either by the trial justice or the clerk appointed by him may be directed
to any constable of the county or the sheriff thereof, as the trial justice
may direct.

No process or warrant issued by such trial justice or clerk or any
part thereof or any date therein shall be altered after the same is issued
by the officer to whom directed or any other person, except such trial
justice or clerk. Any person, other than such trial justice or clerk, who
shall alter any such process or warrant after the same has been issued
or any Officer who shall fail or refuse to execute within a reasonable time
any warrant or process issued under the provisions of this act shall be
ruilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not less than five nor more
than five hundred dollars.
15. In counties affected by this act where a trial justice shall have
been heretofore appointed under and in pursuance of chapter three
hundred and eighty-eight of the acts of the general assembly of nineteen
hundred and twenty-two, approved March twenty-fourth, nineteen
hundred and twenty-two, this act shall become immediately effective; in
other counties affected by this act the same shall not be effective unless
and until the board of supervisors of such county shall have approved
and adopted the same by a resolution agreed to by a recorded majority
vote of all the members of such board, a copy of which resolution shall
forthwith be certified to the electoral board of such county, and the same
shall have been submitted to and approved by the qualified voters of
such county at the general election next following the adoption of such
resolutions by such board of supervisors, the question of the adoption
of this act shall be submitted to the qualified voters of such county upon
the ballot used at such election, in such form as the electoral board shall
prescribe. If a majority of the qualified voters, voting at such election,
shall vote in favor of such adoption, then this act shall immediately
become effective in such county.

16. All acts and parts of acts in conflict herewith are hereby re-
pealed.