Chap. 218.—An ACT to amend and re-enact section 7 of chapter 5, and section 2
of chapter 10, of an act entitled an act to incorporate the city of Danville, ap-
proved February 17, 1890, as heretofore amended, relating to the civil justice
and justices of the peace for said city. [H B 351]

Approved March 27, 1934

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That section
seven of chapter five, and section two of chapter ten, of an act entitled
an act to incorporate the city of Danville, approved February seven-
teenth, eighteen hundred and ninety, as heretofore amended, be amended
and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

CHAPTER V

Section 7. The council of the city of Danville may, by an ordinance
adopted by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to said council,
create the office of civil justice of Danville. Such civil justice shall
hold office for a term of two years from the beginning of his term, as
fixed by the ordinance creating the office, and until his successor is
appointed and qualifies, unless sooner removed from office.

Such civil justice, at the time of his election shall have practiced
law in the State for at least two years, and shall, during his term of
office, reside in the city of Danville.

The judge of the corporation court of Danville shall nominate, and
by and with the consent of the city council, to be expressed by a majority
vote of all members elected to said council, appoint such civil justice.

Such civil justice, before entering upon the performance of his
duties, shall take the official oath required by law before the corporation
court of Danville, or the judge thereof in vacation, and the council
may require such civil justice to enter into bond in the amount required
by the ordinance, with surety to be approved by said court or judge,
conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties as such civil
justice.

Such civil justice shall receive a salary to be paid in monthly in-
stallments out of the treasury of the city of Danville, and the council
shall designate the amount of the salary, and make provisions therefor,
and he shall receive no further compensation for his services as such
civil justice from said city.

The judge of the corporation court of Danville shall, by proper order
of record, appoint a substitute civil justice, and may at any time revoke
such appointment, and may make a new appointment in like manner in
the event of such revocation, or of 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,
or interest in the claim or proceeding to be had before his court, or
otherwise, such substitute civil justice shall perform the duties of the
office during such absence or disability, and shall receive for his services
a per diem compensation equivalent to one-twentieth of the monthly in-
stallment of the salary of the civil justice, payable out of the treasury
of the city; the account for such services to be approved by said cor-
poration court or the judge thereof in vacation. While acting as such,
either the civil justice, or the substitute civil justice may perform all
acts with reference to the proceedings, judgments and executions of the
other in any warrant, claim or proceeding before the court of the civil
justice, in the same manner, and with the same force and effect as if
they were his own.

The said civil justice shall have exclusive jurisdiction in all civil
matters cognizable by justices of the peace of the counties under the
Constitution and laws of Virginia, and shall, in addition thereto, have
concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit and corporation court of Dan-
ville, of any claim for damages for any injury done to a person, which
would be recoverable by actions at law, if such claims do not exceed
three hundred dollars. No other justice of the peace in said city shall,
after the creation of the office of civil justice, exercise such jurisdiction
as is herein conferred on such civil justice, except as provided in this
chapter. ,
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 the general jurisdiction of said civil 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; save when an attach-
ment other than under section sixty-four hundred and sixteen, is re-
turned executed and the defendant has not been served with a copy
thereof, the said civil justice, upon affidavit in conformity with sections
six thousand and sixty-nine and six thousand and seventy of the Code
of Virginia, 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 posting,
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 defendant be a cor-
poration, 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 concurrent jurisdiction with the
circuit and corporation court of Danville in actions at law, except for
the recovery of a fine, where the amount in controversy does not exceed
six hundred dollars, provided, however, that where the amount in con-
troversy exceeds the sum of three hundred dollars, the civil justice
shall, at any time within ten days after return date of process, pro-
viding that judgment has not been rendered, but not thereafter, upon
application of the defendant, and the filing by him of a statement of
defense and the particulars thereof, verified by his affidavit, and upon
his payment of the costs which have accrued to the time of removal,
remove the case, and all papers pertaining thereto, to the corporation
court of Danville.

In the exercise of this concurrent jurisdiction, the actions at law
shall be begun and proceeded in according to the provisions of section
sixty hundred and forty-six of the Code of Virginia as now existing or
hereafter amended.

Said civil justice shall have all jurisdiction and powers of procedure
which are given to county justices of the peace under the laws of Vir-
ginia, and the provisions of sections thirty-one hundred and five to
thirty-one hundred and eight of the Virginia Code, as now existing or
hereafter amended, relating to procedure, appeals and removal, dis-
missal of claims, and rules of practice applicable to civil cases are con-
ferred upon such civil justice, and shall be controlling and applicable

to said civil justice and to all parties litigant before the civil justice
court except that all appeals from the civil justice court shall be to the
corporation court of Danville.

A warrant within the jurisdiction conferred by law upon such civil
justice, may be issued by the clerk of the civil justice court, or by any
justice of the peace of the city of Danville, except said civil and police
justice, but all warrants issued shall be returnable only before such
civil justice for trial and determination.

At or before the time of hearing of any warrant or proceeding
before such civil justice on any claim within the jurisdiction of his
court, the plaintiff in such claim shall pay to the civil justice, or the
clerk of his court, a trial fee of fifty cents for each one hundred dol-
lars of value, or fraction thereof claimed in said warrant, except that
in cases involving twenty dollars or less, the trial fee shall be thirty
cents. The civil justice or the clerk of his court shall pay monthly
into the treasury of the city of Danville all trial and other fees collected.

The council shall have power to create the office of clerk of the civil
justice court, and provide for a salary or compensation of such clerk.
The council shall fix the term of office of such clerk, and elect a suitable
and competent person to such office.

The council may elect one of the justices of the peace in the city
of Danville as clerk of said court, but the selection of the clerk shall
not be restricted to one of the justices of the peace. The clerk of said
court, whether a duly elected justice of the peace of Danville, or not,
shall have concurrent power with the other justices of the peace of
said city, to issue civil warrants within the jurisdiction of the civil jus-
tice court, but all warrants so issued shall be returnable only before the
civil justice for trial and determination.

If the council provides for a salary for such clerk, it shall have
power to prescribe the fees to be charged by the clerk for issuing war-
rants, and require that same be collected from the plaintiff before trial.
All fees paid to the clerk for issuing warrants, and other fees collected,
shall be taxed as a part of the costs and paid monthly into the treasury
of the city of Danville. The council may require bond of the clerk of
the civil justice court, with proper surety to be conditioned according
to law, and such clerk shall qualify by taking the oath of office before
the corporation court of Danville, or the judge thereof in vacation.

CHAPTER X

Section 2. Until the council of the city of Danville creates the
office of civil justice, there shall be elected at the general November
election nineteen hundred and thirty-seven, and every four years there-
after, by the qualified voters of each ward of said city, one justice of
the peace from each ward, who shall be a resident of his ward, and
who shall hold office for a term of four years, and until his successot
is elected and qualified, unless sooner removed from office. The said
justices of the peace shall be conservators of the peace within the city
and for the space of one mile without and around the same; and within
such limits shall possess the jurisdiction and exercise the powers con-
ferred upon justices of the peace under the laws of this Commonwealth,
and receive the same compensation, except that in civil cases their
jurisdiction shall be confined to the corporate limits of said city; pro-
vided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be construed as
vesting in said justices any jurisdiction of offenses against the ordi-
nances of the city nor any jurisdiction of criminal cases arising under
the laws of the Commonwealth, which power is vested solely in the
police justice.

After the office of civil justice is created by the council as provided
by chapter five, section seven of this charter, the qualified voters of
the wards in said city embracing the territory situate north of Dan
river shall elect one justice of the peace, who shall reside within such
territory, and the qualified voters of the wards of said city embracing
the territory within said city situate south of Dan river shall elect two
justices of the peace who shall reside within such territory. Said jus-
tices of the peace shall hold office for a term of four years and until
their successors are elected and qualified, unless sooner removed from
office. After the office of civil justice is created, the justices of the
peace of said city shall not have jurisdiction to try and decide civil
cases, but shall only have jurisdiction, to be exercised concurrently with
the clerk of the civil justice court, to issue warrants in civil cases. All
warrants issued by said justices shall be made returnable before the civil
justice for trial, decision and execution.

The council of said city shall have power, by ordinance, to desig-
nate one of the elected justices of the peace of said city, or the clerk
of the civil justice court, as bail commissioner and special justice, and
the justice of the peace so designated, or the clerk of the civil justice
court, shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the police justice of said
city, to admit to bail all persons charged with offenses against the city
ordinances, and persons charged with criminal offenses under the laws
of Virginia, not punishable with death or confinement in the peniten-
tiary, pending trial or examination before the police justice; also to
recognize or commit persons charged with such offenses to jail for trial
or examination before the police justice.

The justice of the peace appointed by the council as bail commis-
sioner, or the clerk of the civil justice court, or both, as determined by
the council, shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the police justice of
the city of Danville to issue warrants for all offenses against the ordi-
nances of the city of Danville, committed within the city of Danville,
and to issue criminal warrants for all offenses against the laws of the
Commonwealth of Virginia, committed within said city of Danville, or

within one mile of the corporate limits thereof. For issuing such war-
rants the justice of the peace so designated, or the clerk of said civil
justice court, shall receive such compensation or salary as may be fixed
by the council.

~The city council may, by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected
to such council, abolish the office of civil justice of said city, and any
other office herein authorized to be created.