CHAPTER 258

An Act to amend and reenact § 127 of Chapter 34 of the Acts of Assembly
of 1918, approved February 7, 1918, as amended, which chapter pro-
vided a charter and special form of government for the city of Nor-
folk, and which section relates to the police justice and assistant
police justice of the city, and to amend the chapter by adding thereto
a section numbered 11(a), to provide for the appointment of an addi-
tional police justice and an additional assistant police justice. "HE 5081

Approved March 8, 1952

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 127 of Chapter 34 of the Acts of Assembly of 1918, approved
February 27, 1918, as amended, be amended and reenacted and that the
chapter be amended by adding a section numbered 11 (a), as follows:

8 11(a). Additional police justice—The council may elect an addt-
tional police justice. Such additional police justice shall serve for such
term, shall receive such compensation as may be prescribed by the council,
and shall have such powers, authority and duties as are prescribed for the
police justice, except that whenever there are two police justices, the one
senior in length of continuous service shall be senior in fact, shall have
the sole authority to decide and provide for the division of work between
the police justices, and both police justices may hold court at the same
time under such rules as to division of work as may be prescribed by the
senior police justice. The council may elect an additional assistant police
justice who shall serve for such term and receive such compensation as
may be prescribed by the council, and he shall have such powers, authority
and duties as are prescribed for the assistant police justice.

§ 127. The police justice and assistant police justice.-—The police
justice of said city shall hold the police court of said city. *
The police justice shall be a conservator of the peace within the cor-
porate limits of the city and within such area beyond such limits over
which jurisdiction is conferred upon the corporation court or courts of
the city, and within such limits shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the
corporation court or courts of the city for the trial of all misdemeanors,
and shall have power to conduct preliminary examinations of persons
charged with crime therein in the manner prescribed by law, and such
other jurisdiction, powers and duties as may now or hereafter be con-
ferred by law.

The police justice shall also have jurisdiction for the trial of all
offenses aguinst the ordinances of the city, provided that any such city
shall have the right to appeal to the corporation court or courts of the
city from any decision of the police justice affecting the legality or validity
of any ordinances of the city; and the police justice shall have such other
jurisdiction, powers and duties as may be conferred upon him by the
council of the city, not in conflict, however, with the Constitution and laws
of the United States and of the State of Virginia.

Any person convicted by the police justice shall have an appeal of
right to the corporation court or courts of the city as provided by law,
provided, however, that the police justice shall have the power to permit
any aefendant to withdraw such an appeal within ten days after
conviction.

Any assistant police justice shall serve as police justice during such
time as the police justice may be absent, or disqualified by reason of sick-
ness or other cause, or during such time as he may be requested by the
police justice so to serve. Any assistant police justice may serve as police
justice at the same time the police justice is so acting. While any such
assistant police justice is so serving, he shall have and exercise concur-
rently with the police justice all the powers, authorities and duties of the
police justice.

The police justice and the assistant police justice shall receive such
compensation as may be prescribed by the council.

In case of the absence from the city or disqualification by reason of
sickness or other cause of the police justice and any assistant police justice,
the police court may be held by one or more of the justices of the peace of
said city to be designated as provided in § 128 of this charter.