Chap. 98.—An ACT to amend and re-enact sections 8 and 12 of an act entitled
an act to amend the charter of the city of Portsmouth, approved March 10,
1908, by adding a new chapter, in the place of chapter 9 of said charter,
in relation to civil and police justice, providing for his election and quali-
fications, and prescribing his powers, duties, jurisdiction, term of office, and
compensation, and repealing chapter 9 of said charter, as provided by an act
of the general assembly of Virginia, approved March 12, 1912, as amended
by an act approved March 16, 1918, and repealing all acts, parts of acts,
and charter provisions inconsistent with this act, so far as they relate to
the city of Portsmouth, and to abolish the offices of civil justice and police
justice in said city, approved March 23, 1926, and to add a new section
thereto to be known as section 18, providing for the appointment of a clerk
to the civil and police justice and prescribing the powers and duties of
such clerk. [H B 76]

Approved March 6, 1930
1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That sec-

tions eight and twelve of an act entitled an act to amend the charter
of the city of Portsmouth, approved March tenth, nineteen hundred
and eight, by adding a new chapter, in the place of chapter nine of
said charter, in relation to civil and police justice, providing for his
election and qualifications, and prescribing his powers, duties, jurisdic-
tion, term of office, and compensation, and repealing chapter nine of
said charter as provided by an act of the general assembly of Virginia,
approved March twelfth, nineteen hundred and twelve, as amended by
an act approved March sixteenth, nineteen hundred and eighteen, and
repealing all acts, parts of acts, and charter provisions inconsistent
with this act so far as they relate to the city of Portsmouth, and to
abolish the offices of civil justice and police justice in said city, ap-
proved March twenty-third, nineteen hundred and twenty-six, be
amended and re-enacted and that a new section be added to said act
to be known as section eighteen, as follows:

Section 8. Jurisdiction ——The jurisdiction of the civil and police
justice shall be as follows:

(a) The civil and police justice shall be a conservator of the peace
within the corporate limits of the city of Portsmouth, and for one mile
beyond the corporate limits of said city, and within such limits shall have
exclusive original jurisdiction for the trial of all offenses against the
ordinances of said city, and shall have concurrent jurisdiction with
the court of hustings of said city in all cases of violations of the revenue
and election laws of the State, except chapter one hundred and eighty-
four of the Code of Virginia, nineteen hundred and nineteen, and all
offenses arising under the provisions of chapter one hundred and
eighty-five of the Code of Virginia, nineteen hundred and nineteen,
of sections forty-five hundred and seventy-two, forty-five hundred and
seventy-three and forty-five hundred and seventy-four of the Code of
Virginia, nineteen hundred and nineteen, and, except when it is other-
wise specially provided, shall have exclusive original jurisdiction for
the trial of all other misdemeanor cases occurring within his juris-
diction.

(b) The said civil and police justice shall have exclusive juris-
diction in all civil matters cognizable by justices of the peace for the
counties of this State, and shall, in addition thereto, have concurrent
jurisdiction with the circuit and city courts of general jurisdiction
of any claim to damages for any injury done to the person or property,
which would be recoverable by action at law, if such claims do not
exceed three hundred dollars. No other justice of the peace of the city
of Portsmouth shall hereafter exercise such jurisdiction as is herein
conferred on said civil and police justice, except as provided in this act.

(c) The said civil and police justice shall also have jurisdiction to
try and decide attachment cases where the amount of the plaintiff’s
claim does not exceed the general jurisdiction of said civil and police
justice, and the proceedings on any such attachment shall conform to
the provisions of chapter two hundred and sixty-nine of the Code of
Virginia, nineteen hundred and nineteen; save when attachment other
than under section sixty-four hundred and sixteen of the Code of
Virginia, nineteen hundred and nineteen, is returned executed, and
the defendant has not been served with a copy thereof, the said civil
and police justice, upon affidavit in conformity with sections six
thousand and sixty-nine and six thousand and seventy of the Code
of Virginia, nineteen hundred and nineteen, shall forthwith cause to
be posted at the front door of his court room a copy of the said attach-
ment, and shall file a certificate of the fact with the papers in the
case, and in addition to the said posting, the plaintiff, in the said attach-
ment, or his attorney, shall give to the clerk of the said civil and police
justice the last known address or abode of the said defendant, verified
by affidavit, and the said clerk shall forthwith mail a copy of the said
attachment to the said defendant, at his, or her, last known address,
or place of abode; or, if said defendant be a corporation, at its last
known address and the mailing of the said copy, as aforesaid, shall be
certified by the said clerk in writing, and such certificate shall be filed
with the papers in the case, and after the said copy of the attach-
ment has been so posted and mailed, as aforesaid, for fifteen days the
said civil and police justice may proceed to try and decide the said
attachment.

(d) The said civil and police justice shall also have concurrent
jurisdiction with the circuit and city courts of general jurisdiction in
actions at law, except for the recovery of a fine, where the amount
in controversy does not exceed one thousand dollars; provided, how-
ever, that where the amount in controversy exceeds the sum of three
hundred dollars, the civil and police justice shall, at any time within
ten days after return date of process, providing that judgment has
not been rendered, but not thereafter, upon the application of the
defendant, and the filing by him of a statement of defense, and the
particulars thereof, which said statement shall be sworn to, and upon
his payment of the costs, accrued to time of removal, remove the
case and all the papers thereof, to a court having jurisdiction of appeals
from said civil and police justice of the said city. On the trial of the
case the proceedings shall conform to proceedings under section six
thousand and forty-six of the Code of Virginia, as now or hereafter
amended.

And such other jurisdiction as may from time to time be conferred
on civil and police justices by the laws of this State.

Any person entitled to maintain an action at law or civil warrant
before the said civil and police justice may, in lieu of such action at
law or civil warrant, proceed by motion before said civil and police
justice after not less than five days’ notice, which notice shall be in
writing, signed by the plaintiff or his attorney, and shall be returned
to the said civil and police justice before the return day of same and
when so returned shall be forthwith docketed.

The said notice shall contain a brief informal statement of the
plaintiff’s claim.

All motions under this section shall be served in the same manner
that civil warrants are served and shall be served only by the high
constable or the city sergeant, and shall be tried in the same manner
that civil warrants are now tried before said civil and police justice.

Section 12. Appeals and removals.—In all misdemeanors triable
before said civil and police justice under the provisions of this chapter,
there shall be an appeal from his judgment to the court of hustings
of the city of Portsmouth, as now or hereafter provided by law for
appeals from the judgment of a justice of the peace for the counties of
this State. In all civil cases triable before such civil and police justices,
no removal to any other court shall be allowed, except as provided in
this act, but in all cases over twenty dollars, exclusive of the interest,
there shall be an appeal of right to any of the courts exercising gen-
erally original common law jurisdiction in such civil cases in his city,
and all such appeals shall be tried and judgment rendered as provided
by section sixty hundred and thirty-eight of the Code of Virginia,
nineteen hundred and nineteen, but no appeal shall be granted unless
and until the party applying for the same shall have given bond, with
sufficient surety, to be approved by the said civil and police justice,
to abide the judgment of the court upon the appeal, if such appeal
be perfected, or if not so perfected, then to satisfy the judgment of
the said civil and police justice, judgment against such surety, when
the appeal is not perfected, to be entered under section six thousand
and twenty-eight of the Code of Virginia, nineteen hundred and
nineteen; except where an appeal is proper to protect the estate of a
decedent, infant, convict or insane person, or to protect the interest
of said city of Portsmouth, no bond shall be required. No surety
in any such appeal bond shall be released by the appellant’s being
adjudicated a bankrupt at any time subsequent to the judgment ren-
dered by the said civil and police justice, but such surety shall be
entitled to make any defense on the trial of the appeal that the appel-
lant could have made except the defense of bankruptcy. The party
taking such an appeal may direct to which of said courts said appeal
shall be sent for trial where there are more than one of such courts,
and in the absence of such directions, the said civil and police justice
may send the same to any court having jurisdiction, and the clerk of
said court, upon receipt of the papers in any such appeal, shall, upon
payment of the writ tax, forthwith docket such case 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 thereupon stand dismissed, and
the said judgment shall become final, and the said papers, upon appli-
cation of any party in interest, shall be returned to the said civil and
police justice by the clerk of the appellate court. Appeal cases shall not
have preference over other cases pending in such appellate courts
as regards the time of the trial. The city of Portsmouth shall have the
right of appeal to the hustings or circuit court of said city from any
decision of the civil and police justice affecting the public revenue of
the city or the legality or validity of any ordinance passed by the
council of said city.

Section 18. The council of the city of Portsmouth may provide
for the civil and police justice such clerk or clerks as they may deem
necessary, whose appointment shall be made by the city manager of
the city of Portsmouth, and he or they shall receive such compensation
as the city council may fix, to be paid out of the treasury of the city, and
shall give such bond as the said council shall direct. Such clerk or clerks
may perform the same duties required of the civil and police justice,
except the trial of cases, and such additional duties as required by
the council of the city of Portsmouth.