Chap. 142.—An AUL tO provide in cities containing 10,000 inhabitants and
less than 45,000 inhabitants, for the election of a special justice of the
peace to be known as the civil and police justice, to prescribe his juris-
diction and duties, to authorize the issue by other justices of the peace
in said cities of warrants cognizable by said civil and police justice,
and to abolish the office of police justice in said cities and towns and’
transfer the jurisdiction of such police justices in said cities to such
civil and police justices. (H. B. 414.)

Approved March 20, 1914.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, as fol-
lows:

Sec. 1. Election and terms.—In each city containing ten thou-
sand inhabitants and less than forty-five thousand inhabitants, as
determined by the latest United States census, there shall be elected
by the qualified voters of such city a special justice of the peace, to
be known as the civil and police justice, who shall hold office for a
term of four years (subject to the qualification hereinafter pro-
vided in respect of the length of the first term of said civil and po-
lice justice}, and until his successor shall be elected and qualified,
unless sooner removed from office as hereinafter provided. ‘Lhe first
civil and police justices to be elected under the provisions of this
act shall be elected on the Tuesday after the first Monday in No-
vember, nineteen hundred and fifteen, and their first terms of office
shall begin on the first day of January succeeding, and shall con-
tinue for a period of two years to the first day of January, nine-
teen hundred and eighteen, and thereafter their successors shall be
elected on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, nine-
teen hundred and seventeen, and every four years thereafter, and
their terms of office shall begin on the first day of January succeed-
ing their election.

Sec. 2. Qualifications.—Such civil and police justice, at the
time of his election, shall have practiced law in this State for at
least five years, shall, during his term of office, reside in the city for
which he is elected, and shall not, during the said term, hold any
other office of public trust.

Sec. 8. Oath and bond.—Such civil and police justice, before
entering upon the performance of his duties, shall take the official
oath required by law before the circuit, corporation, or hustings
court of the city for which he is elected, or the judge thereof in va-
cation. He shall also enter into bond in the penalty of two thou-
sand dollars before said circuit, corporation or hustings court, or
the judge thereof in vacation, with surety to be approved by said
court or judge and conditioned for the faithful performance of his
duties as such civil and police justice.

Sec. 4. Compensation.—Such civil and police justice shall re-
ceive a salary to be paid in monthly instalments out of the treasury
of the city for which he is elected, and the councils of such cities
shall make provision therefor, and he shall receive no other com-
pensation for his services as such civil and police justice Irom said
city; provided, however, that no instalment of his salary shall be
paid except upon his certificate in writing that he has disposed of
all cases that have been submitted to him for decision more than
' thirty days previous to the date upon which said instalment falls
due. The salary of such civil and police justice shall be fixed by the
councils of such cities.

Sec. 5. Disability, et cetera, of civil and police justice.—The
court of such civil and police justice shall be open for the trans-
action of business every day in the year, except Sundays and legal
holidays, but he shall be allowed annually a vacation period of not
more than one month between July first and October first. The
judge of the corporation or hustings court of each of said cities
shall, by proper order of record, appoint as substitute civil and
police justice a person with like qualifications as hereinbefore pro-
vided for the civil and police justice, and may at any time revoke
such appointment, and may make a new appointment in like man-
ner in the event of such revocation, or of the death, absence, or dis-
ability 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, interest in the
claim, proceeding, or parties before his court, or otherwise, such
substitute civil and police justice shall perform the duties of the
oflice during such absence or disability, and shall receive for his
services a per diem compensation equivalent to one-twentieth of a
monthly instalment of the salary of the civil and police justice,
payable out of the treasury of the city, the account for such ser-
vices to be approved by the corporation or hustings court. 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, judgments and proceeds of the other in any warrant,
claim, or proceeding 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.

Sec. 6. Removal from office——Such civil and police justice may
be removed from office by the circuit court of the city for which
he is elected, or if there be no circuit court for said city, by the
circuit court of the county in which said city is situated, for in-
competency, neglect of duty, corruption in office, or failure to de-
cide with reasonable promptness warrants or claims pending before
him, and the fact of such removal shall be certified by said court
to the corporation or hustings court of the city for which such civil
and police justice is elected. Before such civil and police justice
shall be so removed from office he shall have at least thirty days’
votice of the charge or charges against him, and opportunity shall
be given him for defense. He shall be entitled to a trial by jury
at his election.

Sec. 7. Vacancy.—Any vacancy occurring in the office of the
Clvil and police justice by death, resignation, or removal irom),
office shall be filled by the corporation or hustings court of the city
for which such civil and police justice is elected by appointment of
a person having the qualifications hereinbefore provided for’ the
civil and police justice, and such person so appointed shall hold of-
fice until a successor shall be elected and qualified. At the next
general election after the occurrence of the vacancy a successor of
such civil and police justice shall be elected for the unexpired term
by the qualified voters of such city.

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

Sub-section 1. The said civil and police justice shall be a con-
servator of the peace within the corporate limits of the city for
which he is elected, and within one mile beyond the corporate limits
of such 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 corpora-
tion or hustings court of said city in all cases of violations of the
revenue laws of the State, and of offenses arising under the pro-
visions of chapter one hundred and eighty-seven, and of sections
thirty-eight hundred and one, thirty-eight hundred and two, thirty-
eight hundred and three and thirty-eight hundred and four of the
Code of Virginia, and, except when it is otherwise specially pro-
vided, shall have exclusive original jurisdiction for the trial of all
other misdemeanor cases occurring within his jurisdiction; and in
addition thereto shall, in all offenses against the laws of this Com-
monwealth, possess the jurisdiction and exercise all the powers con-
ferred upon justices of the peace and police justices by the laws of
this State, in all which cases the punishment may be the same as
the mayor of any such city, or the corporation or hustings court
thereof, is authorized to impose.

Sub-section 2._ The said civil and police justice shall have jur-
isdiction of any claim to specific personal property of less value
than three hundred dollars, or to any debt, fine, or other money, or
to damages for any breach of contract, or for any injury done to
property, real or personal, which would be recoverable by action
at law or suit in equity, if such claims be less than three hundred
dollars, inclusive of interest, at the date of the institution of the
suit; and shall also have all the civil jurisdiction now possessed by
the police justices or justices of the peace in such cities with respect
to cases and proceedings of forcible or unlawful entry or detainer;
and no other justice of the peace in such cities shall hereafter exer-
cise such jurisdiction as is herein conferred on ¢aid civil and police
justice except as hereinafter provided.

Sec. 9. Issue of warrants.—A. warrant within the jurisdiction
conferred by this act upon such civil and police justice may be is-
sued by any justice of the peace of his city, except said civil and
Police Justice, NUL When SO Issued IU Shall be returnable only Dberore
such civil and police justice for trial and determination.

_ Sec. 10. Costs, et cetera.—At or before the time of. hearing had
before such civil and police justice on any claim of which the civil
and police justice is given jurisdiction by sub-section two of section
eight of this act the plaintiff in such claim shall pay to the said
civil and police justice a trial fee of fifty cents for each hundred
dollars of value, or fraction thereof, claimed in such warrant. The
trial fee shall be taxed as part of the costs. The civil and police
justice shall pay monthly into the treasury of his city all trial fees
collected by him.

Sec. 11. Procedure-—All procedure under this act in claims
and proceedings of which the civil and police justice is given jur-
isdiction by sub-section two of section eight of this act, except so
far as herein otherwise provided, shall conformi to the chapter con-
cerning warrants for small claims, being chapter one hundred and
forty of the Code of Virginia, as amended; except that on motion
of either party the adverse party may be required to file the par-
ticulars 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 an
insane person is a party shall not be stayed because of such infancy
or insanity, but the civil and police justice before whom such suit
is pending 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 execution; and the
said 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.

Sec. 12. Appeals and removals.—(1) In warrants, matters and
proceedings of which the civil and police justice is given jurisdic-
tion by sub-section one of section eight of this act there shall be an
appeal from the judgment of the city and police to the corporation
or hustings court of his city, as now or hereafter provided by law
from the judgment of justices of the peace or police justices.

(2) No claim returnable before such civil and police justice,
of which the civil and police justice is given jurisdiction by sub-
section two of section eight of this act, shall be removed to any
other court, but from any judgment of the civil and police justice
in any such claim exceeding twenty dollars, exclusive of interest,

!
there shall be an appeal as of right to any of the courts exercising
general original common law jurisdiction in such civil cases in his
city, or to such courts as had on January first, nineteen hundred and
ten, appellate jurisdiction from judgments rendered by justices in
causes of which they had cognizance under section twenty-nine hun-
dred and thirty-nine of the Code of Virginia, respectively, 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
and acts amendatory thereof; but no appeal shall be granted unless
and until the party applying for the same has 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. The party
taking such 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 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 case,
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, therefore,
stand dismissed, and said judgment shall become final, and the said
papers, upon application of any party in interest, shall be returned
to the civil and police justice by the clerk of the appellate court;
but appeal cases shall not have preference over other cases pending
in such appellate courts as regards the time of trial.

Sec. 18. Dismissal of claims.—If any claim of which the civil
and police justice is given jurisdiction by sub-section two of section
eight 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
justice shall forthwith dismiss such claim.

All papers connected with any of the proceedings in the trial of
cases before such civil and police justice, except such as may be re-
moved on appeal, and except also such papers in criminal matters
as are required by law to be returned to and lodged in the clerk’s
office of a court of record of such city, shall remain in the office of
the civil and police justice, and shall be properly indexed and filed
and preserved, and in claims of which the civil and police justice is
given jurisdiction by sub-section two of section eight of this act, the
constable or sergeant serving said papers shall, at the time of or
before such service, collect from the plaintiff the sum of twenty-five
cents, to be daily turned over by said constable or sergeant to the
civil and police justice and taxed as costs for the filing and indexing
said papers, and the civil and police justice shall monthly pay into
the treasury of his city all such fees so paid to him.

Sec. 14. Rules and practice.—The civil and police justice shall
have the power to make and enforce such reasonable rules of prac-
tice as are not in conflict with law.

Sec. 15. Courtroom, books and stationery.—Each of such cities
shall provide a suitable courtroom and office for such civil and po-
lice 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.

Sec. 16. Bailiff—The said civil and police justice shall ap-
point a bailiff for his said court, who shall hold his office until re-
moved by the civil and police justice. The bailiff shall have charge
of the civil and police justice’s courtroom and office, and the fur-
niture and other property contained therein, and be held responsible
for the safekeeping and proper protection of the same. He shall
have the care of keeping, cleaning, warming and lighting the said
courtroom and office. He shall attend all courts held by the civil
and police justice, and shall perform such other services as may be
required of him by the civil and police justice. The bailiff shall

‘have the power and authority of a police officer and shall receive
for his services such compensation as the respective city councils
shall fix, to be paid out of the treasury of his said city.

Sec. 17. Abolition of office of police’ justice and transfer of
cases to civil and police justice.——The office of police justice in said
cities is hereby abolished from and after the first day of January,
nineteen hundred and sixteen, and the terms of all police justices
heretofore appointed in said cities shall be extended to and termi-
nate on said date. All warrants, proceedings and claims of what-
ever nature within the jurisdiction conferred by this act upon civil
and police justices pending before any police justice or justice of
the peace in said cities on the first day of January, nineteen hun-
dred and sixteen, shall be forthwith transferred on said date for
further procedure and determination to the said civil and police
justices, respectively.

Sec. 18. Acts in conflict repealed.—All acts, parts of acts and
charter provisions in conflict with this act are hereby repealed; pro-
vided, however, that nothing herein contained shall apply to the
cities of Danville, Roanoke, Lynchburg, Portsmouth, Petersburg
and Staunton.