Chap. 115.—An ACT to amend and re-enact sections 11 and 64 of an act to
incorporate the city of Newport News as amended by an act approved March
24, 1920. [H B 41]

Approved March 10, 1928

Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That sections
eleven and sixty-four of the act to incorporate the city of Newport
News, in the county of Warwick, and to provide a charter therefor as
heretofore amended, by act approved March twenty-fourth, nineteen
hundred and twenty, be amended and re-enacted to read as foliows:

Section 11. The council shall, prior to the first of December next
succeeding their election and prior to the first day of December every
four years thereafter, elect a city clerk, a city attorney. a city auditor,
a special justice of the peace to be known as the police justice, and
a special justice of the peace to be known as the civil justice, each
of whom shall serve for a term of four years and until his successor
shall have been elected and shall have qualified. The said council
shall also appoint the members of such boards and commissions as
are hereinafter provided for; but no offices not specially provided for
by this act shall be created, except by a vote of four-fifths of the
members of the council.

Section 64. There shall be one civil justice who, at the time of his
election shall have practiced law in this State for at least five years
and shall, during his term of office, reside in said city, and shall not,
during the said term, hold any office of public trust, except that
said civil justice may hold the office of notary public and judge of the
juvenile and domestic relations court of said city. Such civil justice
shall receive a salary as the council may fix, to be paid in monthly
installments out of the city treasurer, and he shall receive no other com-
pensation for his services as such justice; provided, however, that no
installment of his salary shall be paid except upon his certificate in
writing that he has disposed of all cases which have been submitted
to him for disposition for more than thirty days previous to the date
upon which said installments fall due.

The civil justice court shall be presided over by the civil justice
and held in such places as shall be designated by the council and
open for the transaction of business every day in the year except
Sundays and legal holidays, unless otherwise provided by ordinance
of the city; but such justice shall be allowed a vacation period of not
more than four weeks in each year.

The judge of the corporation court shall, by proper order of record,
appoint a substitute civil justice, a person with like qualifications tc
the civil justice, and may at any time revoke such appointment and
make a new appointment in like manner in the event of such revoca-
tion or the death, absence or disability of such substitute civil justice
In the event of the inability of the civil justice to perform the duties
of his office by reason of sickness, absence, vacation, interest in the
claim of parties, or otherwise, such substitute civil justice shall perform
the duties of the office during such absence or disability and shall
receive for his services such compensation as the civil justice would
receive for a like period, payable out of the treasury of the city, the
amount for such services to be approved by the corporation court.

While acting as such, either the civil justice or the substitute civil
justice may issue executions upon, grant new trials, hear motions and
perform other acts in reference to the judgment and proceedings of
the other in the same manner as if they were his own.

The said civil justice shall have jurisdiction of any claim to specific
personal property of three hundred dollars or less 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 any action at law or suit in equity, 1f such claim be three hundred
dollars or less, exclusive of interest, and shall also have all the civil
jurisdiction now possessed in cases of forceable or unlawful entry or
detainer now conferred by general law upon justices of the peace;
and shall, in addition thereto, have concurrent jurisdiction with the
circuit and corporation courts of any claims to damages for any injury
done to the person which would be recoverable by action at law, if
such claim do not exceed three hundred dollars.

The said civil justice shall also have jurisdiction to try and decide
attachment cases where the amount of the plaintiff’s claim does not
exceed three hundred dollars, and the proceedings on any such attach-
ment shall conform to the provisions of chapter two hundred and sixty-
nine of the Code of Virginia, nineteen hundred and nineteen, save
when an 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 justice, upon’ afhdavit in conformity with section
six thousand and sixty-nine of the Code of Virginia, nineteen hundred
and nineteen, shall forthwith cause to be posted at the front door of
his courtroom a copy of the said attachment, and shall file a certificate
of the fact with the papers in the case, and in addition to the said post-
ing, the plaintiff, in the said attachment, or his attorney, shall give
to the clerk of the said civil 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 detendant
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 attachment has been so posted and mailed, as
aforesaid, for fifteen days the said civil justice may proceed to try
and decide the said attachment.

The said civil justice shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine
petitions under section fifty-one hundred and ninety of the Code ot
Virginia, nineteen hundred and nineteen, when the amount of value
involved is three hundred dollars or less, and the proceedings before
said civil justice shall be the same as those prescribed before justices
of the peace in said section fifty-one hundred and ninety.

The said civil justice shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the
circuit and corporation courts in actions at law except for the recovery
of a fine where the amount in controversy does not exceed one thousand
dollars, and except in cases of attachments and petitions under sec-
tion fifty-one hundred and ninety, as above set out, in both of which
cases his jurisdiction is limited to three hundred dollars; provided,
however, that where the amount in controversy exceeds the sum of
three hundred dollars, the said civil justice shall at any time before
trial, upon the application of the defendant and upon the payment by
him of the costs accrued and writ tax, remove the case and all the
papers thereof to a court having jurisdiction of appeals from said civil
Justice and transmit to the clerk the writ tax received by him and the
clerk of the said court shall forthwith docket the case. On the trial
of the case so removed, the proceedings shall conform to proceedings
under section six thousand and forty-six of the Code of Virginia,
nineteen hundred and nineteen.

Neither the police justice nor any other justice of the peace in
said city shall hereafter exercise such jurisdiction as herein conferred
upon the civil justice. Any warrant within the jurisdiction above con-
ferred may be issued by any justice of the peace of said city, except
the civil justice and the police justice, but when so issued all civil war-
rants shall be returnable only before such civil justice for trial and
determination.

At or before the time of hearing before such civil justice on any
claim the plaintiff shall pay said civil justice a trial fee of seventy-
five cents for each one hundred dollars value or fraction thereof
claimed in the warrant. The trial fee shall be taxed as a part of the
cost. The said civil justice shall pay monthly into the treasury of
the city all fees collected by him.

All procedure before the civil justice, except so far as herein
otherwise provided, shall conform to the chapter of the Code con-
cerning warrants for small claims, except that either party may require
the adverse party to file the particulars of his claim or the grounds
of defense, as provided by general law, and except that the proceed-
ings in a case wherein an infant or insane person is a party shall not
be stayed because of such infancy or insanity, but the civil 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 de-
fendant, whether such defendant shall have been served with process
or not; or, if no such attorney be found willing to act, the civil
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 justice
rendering any judgment may issue a writ of fiere facias thereon im-
mediately, if there be not a new trial granted, nor an appeal allowed,
nor a stay of execution; and the said civil justice may from time to
time renew such writ either before or after the expiration of one
year from the date of the judgment.

No claim returnable before such justice shall be removed to any
other court, except those cases wherein the amount involved is in excess
of the sum of three hundred dollars, as hereinabove provided, but
from every judgment of said justice in claims exceeding twenty dol-
lars, exclusive of interest, there shall be an appeal as of right within
the statutory period to any of the courts exercising general original
common law jurisdiction in such civil cases in the city, and all such
appeals shall be tried and judgment rendered as provided by section
six thousand and thirty-eight, Code of Virginia, nineteen hundred and
nineteen; 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 justice, to abide the judgment of the court upon the
appeal, 1f such appeal be perfected, or if not so perfected, then to
satisfy the judgment of the said civil 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 hun-
dred and nineteen. No surety in such appeal bond shall be released
by the appellant being adjudicated a bankrupt at any time subsequent
to the judgment rendered by the said civil justice, but such surety
shall be entitled to make any defense on the trial of the appeal that
the appellant could have made, except the defense of bankruptcy of
the principal. The party taking such an appeal may direct to which
of said courts said appeal shal! be sent for trial where there are more
than one of such courts, and in the absence of such directions, the
said civil 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 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 application ot any party in interest, shall be returned
to the said civil’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 trial.

The city of Newport News shall have the right of appeal to the
corporation court of the said city from any decision of the civil justice
affecting the public revenue of said city or the legality or validity of
any ordinance passed by the council of the said city.

Any person entitled to maintain an action at law or proceed by
civil warrant as above set out before said civil justice, may, in lieu
of such action at law or civil warrant, proceed by motion before said
civil justice after not less than five days’ notice, which notice shall be
in writing, signed by the plaintiff, or his attorney, and shall be re-
turned to the said civil justice the day before the return day of same,
and when so returned shall be forthwith filed and the date noted
thereon and upon payment of the trial fee, as above provided, shall
be duly docketed on the return day thereof, and proceedings thereafter
shall be the same as upon warrants for small claims. The said notice
shall contain a brief informal statement of the plaintiff’s claim. All
such motions shall be served only by the high constable or sergeant
of said city, and shall be tried in the same manner that civil warrants
are now tried before said civil justice.

If any claim shall have been pending before such justice sixty
days, he shall notify the parties the same will be dismissed in ten days
thereafter, unless a cause can be shown to the contrary; and unless
such cause be shown, such justice shall forthwith dismiss such claim.
All papers connected with any of the proceedings in the trial of the
cases before such civil justice, except such as may be removed or
appealed, shall remain in the office of the civil justice, and shall be
properly indexed and filed and preserved.

Such justice shall have power to make and enforce such reasonable
rules of practice in his court as are not in conflict with law.

The council shall provide a suitable courtroom and office for the
civil justice and shall furnish all necessary furniture, books and
stationery. Such books shall be under the control of the civil justice
but shall remain the property of the city.

The civil justice may, when authorized so to do by the council by
ordinance, appoint a bailiff and—or clerk for his said court, who shall
hold office until removed by the said civil justice. The said bailiff
and—or clerk shall have charge of the civil justice courtroom and
ofice and the furniture and other property contained therein; and be
held responsible for the safekeeping and proper protection of the same.
He shall attend all courts held by the said civil justice and perform
such other services as may be required of him by the said civil justice.
The said bailiff and—or clerk shall have the power and authority of
a police officer and shall receive for his services such compensation as
the council may fix, to be paid out of the city treasury.