CHAPTER 274

An Act to provide for the retirement, under certain conditions, of trial
qustices in the counties, and for the compensation of such justices on
retirement and how the same shall be paid; to require certain deduc-
tions from the salaries of trial justices; to provide for the creation and
disbursement of the Trial Justices’ Retirement Fund; and to make an

appropriation.
[S 115]

Approved March 15, 1954
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia as follows:

1. § 1. Any trial justice of any county who has attained the age of
seventy years and has served not less than fifteen years as trial justice,
may retire from active service as trial justice upon giving the judge who
appointed him, or his successor in office, and the Comptroller notice in
writing of his intention so to do, stating in such notice the date upon
which such retirement will become effective.

§ 2. Any trial justice retiring under the provisions of this act shall,
after such retirement and for as long as he may live, be paid by the
State out of the general fund in the State treasury, or out of such funds
as shall be appropriated for the purpose, annual compensation in an amount
equal to three-fourths of the annual salary being received by him as
trial justice immediately prior to his retirement; provided that such com-
pensation from the State shall be reduced by the amount of the primary
social security benefit to which such trial justice is entitled under the Old
Age and Survivors Insurance provisions of the Federal Social Security Act
at the time of his retirement or age sixty-five, whichever last occurs,
whether or not such trial justice fails or refuses to apply for such primary
social security benefit or enters into covered employment thereby failing
to receive or losing such primary social security benefit. Such State com-
pensation shall be paid by the State Treasurer in monthly or semimonthly
installments, upon warrants drawn by the Comptroller.

§ 8. Vacancies caused by retirements under this act shall be filled in
like manner as original appointments are made.

§ 4. There is hereby created a fund to be known as the Trial Justices’
Retirement Fund. All retirement salaries of trial justices paid pursuant
to the provisions of this act, shall first be paid out of said fund, and until
said fund is exhausted no such retirement salaries shall be paid by moneys
appropriated out of the general fund of the State treasury.

§ 5. Each trial justice shall, except as provided in § 7 of this act
pay to the State Treasurer a percentage of his salary according to the
following schedule:

Trial justices forty years of age or less at the time this act becomes
effective, or at the time they hereafter take office, shall pay at the rate
of two per cent of their salaries.

Trial justices more than forty and not more than fifty-five years of
age at said time shall pay at the rate of two and one-half per cent of their
salaries.

Trial justices more than fifty-five years of age at said time shall pay
at the rate of three per cent of their salaries.

§ 6. In drawing warrants for the salary payments of such trial
justices, the Comptroller shall deduct from the amount of each such salary
payment beginning with the payments to be made for the month of July,
nineteen hundred and fifty-four, the percentage thereof prescribed in
§ 5 of this act.

§ 7. Notwithstanding any provisions of this act to the contrary, any
such trial justice may notify the Comptroller on or before September
first, nineteen hundred and fifty-four, or within sixty days after he takes
office, that he elects not to make the payments to the Trial Justices’
Retirement Fund hereinabove provided for, in which event every trial
justice so electing shall not thereafter be entitled to receive any retire-
ment salary or any other benefit provided for trial justices under the
provisions of this act, nor shall any such trial justice, once having so
elected, be thereafter eligible for any such retirement salary or benefits
even though he should make payments or contributions to said fund.
Upon receipt of any such notice, the Comptroller shall not make any
further deductions from the salary of the trial justice giving the notice.
If the notice is given on or before September first, nineteen hundred and
fifty-four, the Comptroller shall, by warrants drawn by him on the Treas-
urer, refund to such trial Justice any deductions theretofore made, it being
the purpose of this provision to allow each trial justice until September
first, nineteen hundred and fifty-four, before he is required to make his
election under this section. Trial justices hereafter elected or appointed
shall also be allowed sixty days within which to determine whether they
desire to make said payments or contributions, and if within said time
they notify the Comptroller that they elect not to do so, all deductions
from their salaries theretofore made shall be likewise refunded to them.

§ 8. When any trial justice has served as such for not less than
ten years, if the judge who appointed him, or his successor in office, has
reason to believe that such justice is afflicted with an illness or disability,
mental or physical, which renders him permanently incapacitated or in-
competent to discharge the duties of his office or if such trial justice be-
lieves that he is permanently incapacitated through illness or disability
to discharge the duties of his office, such justice shall notify the judge
who appointed him, or his successor in office, and in either case said
judge thereupon is hereby authorized to conduct an inquiry into the
physical and mental condition of such justice and if such justice be
found to be incapacitated by reason of disability to perform the duties
of his office, to relieve him forthwith and declare vacant the office held
by him. The judge may conduct such inquiry at such place, in such manner,
as he may prescribe and for such purpose the judge may issue subpoenas,
compel the attendance of witnesses, and do all things necessary to deter-
mine the facts in connection with the physical or mental condition of such
justice. The justice affected shall have the right to a hearing before
such judge, reasonable notice of which shall be given to such justice, and
such judge shall designate a Commonwealth’s Attorney of a county for
which such trial justice serves to represent the Commonwealth in such
inquiry. A certified copy of the decision of the judge shall be sent to the
trial justice affected and to the Comptroller of the State of Virginia.
If the decision be to retire such justice, and such justice has made the
contributions provided by § 5 of this act, such justice shall be entitled to
receive the retirement compensation herein provided for under § 2.

§ 9. The Commonwealth shall appropriate to the Trial Justices’ Re-
tirement Fund hereby created each year, during the biennium, beginning
with the biennium July first, nineteen hundred fifty-six, a sum equivalent
to the aggregate amount contributed to such fund by trial justices during
the preceding biennium.

§ 10. In any county in which the trial justice is paid wholly or
partially by the county, the governing body of such county shall cause
salary deductions in accordance with § 5, unless § 7 is complied with, to be
made from the portion paid by the county and shall forward the same
monthly to the Comptroller. The Comptroller shall likewise make the
requisite deductions from the portion of such salary paid by the State.

§ 11. Any trial justice in any such county who thereafter serves as
a juvenile and domestic relations court judge in such county without any
break in tenure shall have the benefit of this act as if he had continued
as a trial justice and his combined services shall be computed as con-
tinuous service under this act.

To carry out the provisions of this act there is hereby appropriated,
from any funds in the State treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the
Trial Justices’ Retirement Fund hereby created, a sum sufficient, esti-
mated at fifteen thousand dollars.