Chap. 304.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Section 5 of an <ct entitled ‘‘An act
making it a misdemeanor for a husband to desert or neglect his wife or for a
parent to desert or neglect his children; prescribing the penalty therefor, and
making provision for the apprehension and punishment of ¢ ersons charged with
or convicted of non-support; providing for the taking of rezognizances, and for
the forfeiture and enforcement of the same; providing for the appointment of
probation officers, prescribing their duties and powers, aid repealing certain
acts,’ approved March 27, 1918, as heretofore amendec, relating to orders
requiring a husband to pay money for the support of his wife, or concerning the
maintenance of a child or children, so as to provide that where any such order
has been entered, and either of the parties brings a suit for divorce, the jurisdic-
tion of the juvenile and domestic relations court shall cease <.nd its orders become
inoperative, and further jurisdiction of the matter shall be in the court wherein
such divorce suit was instituted. [S B 187]

Approved March 28, 1940

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That
section five of an act entitled ‘An Act making it a misdemeanor for
a husband to desert or neglect his wife or for a pzrent to desert or
neglect his children; prescribing the penalty therefor, and making
provision for the apprehension and punishment o!/ persons charged
with or convicted of non-support; providing for th taking of recog-
nizances, and for the forfeiture and enforcement of the same; pro-
viding for the appointment of probation officers, prescribing their
duties and powers, and repealing certain acts,’’ approved March
twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred and eightee1, as _ heretofore
amended, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Section 5. Before the trial, with the consent o° the defendant or
at the trial on entry of a plea of guilty, or after conviction, instead of
imposing the penalties hereinbefore provided, or in addition thereto,
the judge or justice, in his discretion, having regard to the circum-
stances of the case and to the financial ability or earning capacity of
the defendant, shall have the power to make an order, directing the
defendant to pay a certain sum or a certain percentage of his earnings
periodically, either directly or through the court or a_ probation
officer, to the wife or to the guardian, curator or custodian of the
said minor child or children, or to an organization or individual
designated by the court as trustee, and to suspend sentence and re-
lease the defendant from custody on probation, upon his or her
entering into a recognizance with or without surety, in such sum as
the court may order and approve. The condition of the recognizance
shall be such that if the defendant shall make his or her personal
appearance in court upon such date as may be specified by the court,
or whenever, in the meantime, he or she may be ordered so to do,
and shall further comply with the terms of such order, or any sub-
sequent modification or amendment thereof, then such recognizance
shall be void, otherwise in full force and effect. Any order of support
or amendment thereof entered under the provisions of this act shall
remain in full force and effect until annulled by the court of original
jurisdiction, or the court to which an appeal may be taken; provided,
however, that such order of support or terms of probation shall be
subject to change or modification by the court from time to time, as
circumstances may require, but no such change or modification shall
effect or relieve the surety of his obligation under such recognizance,
provided notice thereof be forthwith given to such surety.

Whenever the accused is outside the territorial jurisdiction of the
court, instead of requiring his or her arrest and personal appearance
before the court, the court may allow the accused to accept service
of the process or warrant and enter a written plea of guilty. The
court may thereupon proceed as if the accused were present and enter
such order of support as may be just and proper, requiring the ac-
cused to enter into the recognizance hereinbefore mentioned. For
the purposes of this act the court may authorize the entering into of
such recognizance outside the territorial jurisdiction of the court
before such official of the place where the accused or his surety may
be and under such conditions and subject to such stipulations and
requirements as the court may direct and approve. The provisions
of this act as to the entering into of recognizances outside the territorial
jurisdiction of the court shall likewise apply to any renewal of any
recognizance heretofore or hereafter entered into in any desertion
and non-support case.

On all payments made through the court or probation officer, the
court may charge the defendant for collecting and disbursing the
same, a fee of not more than five per centum of the amounts so paid,
which said collection fee shall be in addition to the regular payments
made in pursuance of said order of support. The court or justice
shall monthly account for and pay into the treasury of the city or
county all fees so collected.

The authority of the court to suspend sentences hereunder may
be exercised at any time after conviction and before the completion
of the sentence, and as often as the court may deem advisable and to
the best interests of the parties, provided that such period or periods
of time as may be actually served by the defendant, either on the
roads or while in jail awaiting transfer to the roads, shall be allowed
against and deducted from the original sentence. Any person sen-
tenced hereunder who, after the completion of such sentence, shall
continue in his failure, without just cause, adequately to support
his wife or children, as the case may be, may again Le sentenced, as
for a new offense, in the same manner and under like conditions as
herein provided, and so on from time to time, as ofter as such failure
or failures shall occur.

In any case where an order has been entered under the provisions
of this section, directing a husband to pay any sum or sums of money
for the support of his wife, or concerning the care, custody or main-
tenance of any child or children, the jurisdiction of <he court which
entered such order shall cease and its orders become i:10perative upon
the entry of a decree by the court or the judge the-eof in vacation
in a suit for divorce instituted in any court of record having jurisdic-
tion thereof, in which decree provision is made for alimony or support
money for the wife and/or concerning the care, custody or mainte-
nance of a child or children, or concerning any matter provided in a
decree in the divorce proceedings in accordance wita the provisions
of section fifty-one hundred and seven of the Code of Virginia. Pro-
vided further, that in any suit for divorce should the husband and/or
father, as the case may be, be out of or leave the State and shall fail
to support his wife and/or children or shall fail to comply with any
order or decree of such court of record for the support of his wife
and/or children, said court may thereupon abate znd dismiss such
suit insofar as the same may pertain to or provide for the payment
of alimony, maintenance or support for wife and/or children with
right of said wife and/or children to proceed agairst said husband
and/or father, as the case may be, in the criminal courts of this State,
including police courts, trial justice courts and juvenile and domestic
relations courts of the Commonwealth under chapter five as fully
and to the same extent as if said divorce suit had never been instituted.