Chap. 90.—An ACT to amend and re-enact section 6253 of the Code of Virginia,
as heretofore amended, relating to certificates in lieu of bills of es
[H B 118]

Approved March 5, 1934

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That section
sixty-two hundred and fifty-three of the Code of Virginia, as here-
tofore amended, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Section 6253. Certificate in lieu of exception—(a) What may be
certified, and how.—In lieu of the bill of exception provided by the
preceding section, it shall be sufficient that, by a note thereto appended
or thereon endorsed, in case of the denial by the trial court of any in-
struction to the jury, the trial judge shall certify that such instruction
was requested by any party and denied by the court, and that the
party requesting the same excepted; in case of any instruction granted
by the court, that any party excepted thereto; in case of any question
propounded to a witness, that said question was allowed or disallowed,
according to the fact, and that any party excepted; and shall further
certify briefly, where such question is disallowed, the answer which
such question would have elicited, if at the time that objection was
made to the question by a party excepting thereto, the tenor of the
answer was ascertained by the court, the name of the witness to whom
the question was propounded, the party by whom such witness was in-
troduced, and at what stage of the examination, whether upon direct,
cross, redirect examination, et cetera, as the case may be, the question
was propounded; in case of the granting or overruling of a motion for
a new trial, that any party excepted; in case of an exception by any
party to any other action, ruling, order or judgment, of any trial court,
or of any other matter arising in the course of the trial or hearing of a
cause, it shall be sufficient, instead of a bill of exception, that the trial
judge shall certify that any party excepted to such action, ruling, order,
judgment or matter.

(b) Certificate of evidence or facts.—It shall be sufficient for all
the purposes of a review by any appellate court of any action, ruling,
order, judgment, or matter, arising in the course of the trial or hearing,
of a cause, that the trial judge shall certify the evidence introduced at
the trial or hearing of such cause when a consideration of the evidence
may be necessary, in order to a decision upon an appeal of any question
involved in such review; but nothing in this section shall be construed
to preclude the trial judge from certifying, in lieu of the evidence, the
facts proved on the trial or hearing of the cause.

(c) Forms of the respective certificates—-The forms of the re-
spective certificates hereinabove provided for shall be substantially as
follows:

“The foregoing instruction was granted at the request of the
plaintiff (or defendant) and the defendant (or plaintiff) excepted.
Teste: this..........2..-2---- day Of... eeeeeeeeeeeeee , nineteen ............22.-2----+ :
saneeceneceeceeseeceecceesnsceceess judge.”

“The foregoing instruction requested by the plaintiff (or de-

“To the foregoing question propounded to ...........------------ , witness
for the plaintiff (or defendant), upon direct, cross, re-direct examina-
tion, et cetera, by the plaintiff (or defendant), and notwithstanding
the defendant’s (or plaintiff’s) objection, allowed by the court, the

defendant (or plaintiff) excepted. Teste: this............ day of.........--------
nineteen........... eee yp ceeeeeceeecteseestececesensscecesseeeeeeees judge.”
“The foregoing question propounded to ..........-.-----------------+ witness

for the plaintiff (or defendant), upon direct, cross, re-direct examina-
tion, et cetera, by the plaintiff (or defendant), upon objection by the
defendant (or plaintiff), was disallowed by the court, and the plaintiff
(or defendant) excepted; the answer to the question excepted by the
plaintiff (or defendant) was ..........2...-2-:---01:s1+00eeees Teste: this ............
day Of -22.2eeeeeeeeeeeee , Nineteen... -eeeeeeeeeeeeeee ees jp ceesceteseeeeeeeees judge.”

“The following evidence on behalf of the plaintiff and of the de-
fendant, respectively, as hereinafter denoted, is all the evidence that was
introduced on the trial of this cause (here insert evidence). Teste:
this -..........-...- day of ........22.-22----+- , MUMEtCON........-...---eeeeeeeeee cence eee ceeeeeceeneees
nonce cttecceenecensecececeececeeeeceeetteteseses judge.”

“The following instructions granted at the request of the plaintiff
and of the defendant, respectively, as hereinafter denoted, are all the
instructions that were granted on the trial of this case (here insert in-
structions). ‘Teste: this............ day of-......-.--22---- , nineteen..............------ ;
ponceenececcececeeseseeenccseees , judge.”

(d) Effect if exceptions are certified in accordance with this sec-
tion.—In all cases to preserve of record to all the intents and purposes
any exception to any action, ruling, order or judgment of the trial court,
or any matter arising in the course of the trial or hearing of a cause, it
shall be sufficient that the trial judge, on the application of any party,
shall certify the same simply and substantially in accordance with the
provisions of this section.

(e) What matters appellate court to consider; what certificate not
to embody; transcript of record not to contain repetition—The appel-

late court in reviewing, upon a writ of error or supersedeas to a final
judgment, or upon an appeal from a final decree, of an inferior court
in a cause, any question arising upon the record in such cause, shall in
every instance, wherever necessary to a decision of such question, con-
sider any exception, the evidence introduced on the trial or hearing of
the cause, or any other matter, preserved of record in such cause by the
certificate of the trial judge as provided by this section; nor in the de-
termination of any such question shall it be necessary to enable the ap-
pellate court to consider any other exception, or the evidence introduced
at the trial or hearing of the cause, or any other matter preserved of
record in the cause, by the certificate of the trial judge as provided by
this section that there shall be any express reference in the certificate
of the exception under which such question may arise to the certificate
of any other exception, of the evidence introduced at the trial or hear-
ing, or of any other matter, preserved of record in the cause, as herein
provided. No certificate by the trial judge under the provisions of this
section shall embody the name of the court or style of the cause, or
be otherwise than as herein substantially provided; nor shall the clerk
of any trial court in making up a transcript of the record in the cause
for any party for the purpose of praying a writ of error, supersedeas
or an appeal, after having once identified the cause by its proper style
in the trial court, in the caption of such transcript, thereafter in such
transcript, reproduce or repeat the style of such cause, except where
the style of such cause appears as a part of the matter preserved by a
certificate of the trial judge, made under the provisions of this section.

(£) When certificate may be signed.—Any certificate to the intents
and purposes of this section may be tendered to the trial judge at any
time before final judgment is entered, or within sixty days from the
time at Which such judgment is entered, whether another term of said
court has intervened or not, and the judge shall endorse thereon the
date on which such certificate was so tendered to him; and any such
certificate so tendered to the judge as aforesaid, either in term time or
vacation, may be signed by him, although said sixty day period shall
have elapsed when so signed, provided such certificate shall be signed
within seventy days of the time such judgment is entered.

The same rule shall apply when cases are heard or opinions are
rendered in vacation, in which case the party excepting shall have sixty
days from the day that such opinion is rendered. ‘This section shall
apply to criminal cases as well as to civil cases. But before the judge
shall sign any such certificate as mentioned above it shall appear in
writing that the opposing party or his attorney of record shall have had
reasonable notice of the time and place when such certificate shall be
tendered and presented to the judge for his signature. And when the
judge shall have signed any such certificate he shall forthwith deliver
the same to the clerk of the court in which the case was tried, or cause
the same to be forthwith transmitted to such clerk.