CHAPTER 5

An Act to amend and reenact § 17-127 of the Code of Virginia, relating
to terms of circuit courts.
{H 18]

Approved February 6, 1952

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia: |
1. That §17-127 of the Code of Virginia be amended and reenacted as
follows:

§ 17-127. The commencement and number of their terms.—Unless.
otherwise provided, there shall be held two terms of each of the city
circuit courts in each year and in each of the counties there shall be
held bimonthly terms of the circuit court of such county, four of which
terms in those counties in which more than four terms are provided, to
be designated by the judge thereof, shall be known as quarterly terms,
at which all civil cases for which juries may be required shall be tried,
unless the judge of any circuit shal] enter of record that juries shall be
summoned to other than the quarterly terms for the trial of civil cases.
At any of the terms all criminal and chancery causes shall be tried, but
the judge of the court may, in any county in which more than five terms
are provided, by an order to be entered on the common law order book
of the court, omit one of the terms thereof during each year, unless the
public business shall require that all of the terms be held for the proper
transaction of business. The number of terms of the courts and the
days for the commencement of the same shall be as fixed by law at the
time this Code takes effect, but the judge of every such court may,
from time to time, change the day for the commencement of ‘the terms
thereof, or any of them, and the judge of the Circuit Court of the city
of Bristol may change the number of terms of such court; provided,
however, that the days for the commencement of the terms of (1) the
circuit courts of the eighth, fourteenth, fifteenth, twentieth, twenty-
second, twenty-fifth, twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, thirty-second, and
thirty-fifth circuits, (2) of the circuit courts of the twenty-third circuit,
except the Circuit Court of the city of Bristol, (3) of the Circuit Court
for the county of Buckingham, (4) of the Circuit Court for the county
of Prince George in its March and September terms, and (5) of the
Circuit Court for the county of Franklin may not be so changed by the
respective judges thereof.

The terms of the circuit court for the county of Appomattox shall
begin on the Tuesday after the first Monday of each of the four months
for which terms of court are now required; the terms of the circuit court
for the county of Charlotte shall begin on the Tuesday after the first
Monday of each of the six months for which terms of court are now
required.

7 The clerks of such courts within thirty days after such change shall
send a copy of the order making it to the clerk of the House of Delegates
and, for failure so to do, shall forfeit fifty dollars.

2. An emergency existing this act shall be in force from its passage.