CHAPTER 27

An Act to amend and reenact §§ 29.01 to 29.17, inclusive, of Chapter 64,
as amended, of the Acts of Assembly of 1922, approved February 25,
1922, which provided a new charter for the City of Suffolk, the sec-
tions amended relating to the municipal court, the judges and officers
thereof, and warrant justices.

[H 125]

Approved February 12, 1962

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That 8§ 29.01 to 29.17, inclusive, of Chapter 64, as amended, of the
Acts of Assembly, 1922, approved February 25, 1922, be amended and
reenacted as follows:

§ 29.01. * Municipal court; judge, election and term.—There shall
be a municipal court for the City of Suffolk. The council shall, in the month
of September, nineteen hundred and * sixty-three, and biennially there-
after, elect a * municipal judge who shall be judge of the municipal court,
und who shall hold office for the term of two years from the first day of
October ensuing his election and until his successor is duly elected and
qualified, unless sooner removed from office. Until the first day of October,
nineteen hundred and sixty-three, the present judge, however named or
lesignated, shall continue in office as judge of the municipal court, unless
sooner removed therefrom.

§ 29.02. Qualifications—Such * municipal judge, at the time of his
election and during his term of office, shall reside in the city, and shall not,
during the said term, hold any other office of public trust. He shall have
such other qualifications as may be required by law governing the appoint-
ment of judges of municipal courts.
§ 29.03. Oath and bond.—Such * municipal judge, before entering
upon the performance of his duties, shall take the official oaths required by
State law before the clerk of the circuit court of the city. He shall also
enter into bond in the penalty of two thousand dollars before the clerk of
said circuit court of the city, payable to the City of Suffolk, with surety to
be approved by * the council and conditioned for the faithful performance
of his duties as * municipal judge.

§ 29.04. Compensation.—Such * municipal judge shall receive such
salary as the council may determine, to be paid in monthly or semimonthly
installments out of the treasury of the city, and he shall receive no other
compensation for his services as such * municipal judge.

§ 29.05. Daily sessions; substitute—Exzcept as may be otherwise
provided by ordinance the court of such * municipal judge shall be kept
open for the transaction of business every day in the year, except Sundays
and legal holidays, but the * judge shall be allowed annually a vacation
period of not more than one month between July first and October first.
The council shall appoint as substitute * municipal judge a person residing
in the city, and may at any time revoke such appointment, and make a
new appointment, in the event of such revocation, or of the death, absence
or disability of such substitute * municipal judge. In the event of the
inability of the * municipal judge to perform the duties of his office by
reason of sickness, absence, vacation, interest in the claim, proceeding or
parties before his court, or otherwise, such substitute * municipal judge
shall perform the duties of the office during such absence or disability, and
shall receive for his services as per diem compensation equivalent to one-
twentieth of a monthly installment of the salary of the * municipal judge
payable out of the treasury of the city; and the council may from time to
time, determine whether or not such compensation shall be deducted from
the salary of the * municipal judge. While acting as such either the *
municipal judge or the substitute * municipal judge may perform all acts
with reference to the proceedings and judgments of the other in any war-
rant, claim or proceeding before the court of the * municipal judge in the
same manner and with the same force and effect as if they were his own.

§ 29.06. Assistant substitute * municipal judge.—In addition to the
substitute * municipal judge provided for by this charter the council may
appoint an assistant substitute * municipal judge who shall have the same
qualifications and shall during the time he performs the duties of the office
of * municipal judge exercise the same powers, perform the same duties
and receive the same compensation as the substitute * municipal judge.
Such assistant substitute * municipal judge shall serve only at such times
as he shall be designated by the substitute * municipal judge to act in his
place and stead.

§ 29.07. Jurisdiction of the * municipal judge shall be as follows:

(1) The said * municipal judge shall be a conservator of the peace
within the corporate limits of the city, and for one mile beyond said limits,
and within such limits he shall have exclusive original jurisdiction for the
trial of all offenses against the ordinances of the city; provided, that the
city shall have the right to appeal to the circuit court of said city from
any decision of the * municipal judge affecting the legality or validity of
any ordinance passed by the council of the city; and, within the corporate
limits of said city, and for one mile beyond such limits, he shall have con-
current jurisdiction with the circuit court of said city and with the circuit
court of Nansemond County for the trial of all cases of the violation of the
revenue and election laws of the State. In criminal cases, he shall possess
all the jurisdiction and exercise all the power and authority now, or here-
after, conferred by law upon a * municipal judge, and, except where it is
otherwise specifically provided by law, shall have exclusive original juris-
diction for the trial of all misdemeanor cases occurring within the cor-
porate limits of the city and concurrent jurisdiction with the county
authorities of offenses committed within one mile of the corporate limits;
in all of which cases the punishment shall be that which is provided by
law or ordinance.

(2) In civil cases, the * municipal judge shall possess all the jurisdic-
tion and exercise all the power and authority now or hereafter conferred
by law upon a * municipal judge. * The * municipal judge shall have,
within the corporate limits of the city, exclusive original jurisdiction of
any claim to specific personal property or to any debt, fine, or other money,
or to damages for breach of contract or for any injury to the person, which
would be recoverable by action at law or suit in equity, when the amount
of such claim does not exceed the sum of three hundred dollars, and con-
current jurisdiction with the circuit court of the city of any such claim
when the amount thereof exceeds three hundred dollars but does not exceed
* two thousand dollars. For the purpose of this section, the amount of the
claim shall * exclude interest and any attorney’s fee contracted for in any
instrument sued on. *

§ 29.08. Issuance of warrants.—The council shall elect one or more
special justices of the peace to be known as warrant justices, who shall
hold office during the pleasure of the council and shall have such powers
as are hereby conferred, and no other. * No person shall be ineligible to
such office by reason of the fact that at the time of his election or while
holding such office he is an officer or employee of the State or city.

Every warrant justice, before entering upon the performance of his
duties, shall take the official oaths required by State law, before the clerk
of the circuit court of the city.

Every warrant and attachment within the jurisdiction conferred upon
the * municipal judge by the charter shall be issued by one of such war-
rant justices, but every warrant so issued shall be made returnable before
the * municipal judge and shall, unless otherwise provided by law, be
triable only. by him, or by the substitute * municipal judge or the assistant
substitute * municipal judge, and every attachment so issued shall be made
returnable before the * municipal judge or the circuit court of the city,
as the law directs; provided, however, that in event the disability of the
warrant justice or Justices, warrants and attachments may be issued by
the * municipal judge, or, in event of the inability of the * municipal judge
to act for any of the reasons mentioned in § 29.05, by the substitute *
municipal judge, or the assistant substitute * municipal judge and pro-
vided, further, that no such warrant justice shall have power to issue
warrants or other process in cases to be heard by the judge of the juvenile
and domestic relations court of the city. Any such warrant justice may
also issue subpoenas for witnesses in civil and criminal cases to be tried
by the * municipal judge, but not in cases to be heard by the judge of the
juvenile and domestic relations court for the city.

In the absence of the * municipal judge, the substitute * municipal
judge and the assistant substitute * municipal judge, each warrant justice
shall have the same power to admit to bail persons charged with misde-
meanors as the * municipal judge would have if present, shall collect the
fees therefor and shall report and pay same to the officer authorized to
collect fines imposed by the * municipal judge, and shall have the same
power to admit to bail such persons charged with noncapital felonies as
the * municipal judge would have if present, provided that the amount of
bail bond to be required in such felony cases shall be fixed by the * munic-
ipal judge, the substitute * municipal judge or the assistant substitute *
municipal judge and provided that in all capital felony cases only the *
municipal judge, the substitute * municipal judge or the assistant substi-
tute * municipal judge or other person authorized by law to admit to bail
shall ac
Such warrant justice or justices shall receive such salary or other
compensation as the council may from time to time prescribe by ordinance,
but no officer or employee in any department of the city government who
may be elected warrant justice shall receive any salary or other compen-
sation as such justice while he holds such other office or continues in such
other employment, unless and until the council specifically provides for
such salary or other compensation by ordinance.

The fees now or hereafter prescribed by law for the issuance of war-
rants shall be collected by the * municipal judge and be paid by him into
the treasury of the city monthly, but the council may, in its discretion,
provide that such fées shall be collected by such warrant justice or justices
and be retained by him or them as compensation for his or their services.

§ 29.09. Costs and fees.—The * municipal judge shall collect all
costs and other fees required by law or ordinance to be paid, and * such
costs and fees in both civil and criminal actions and proceedings shall be
as prescribed by State law. The * municipal judge shall pay monthly into
the treasury of the city all costs, trial fees and other fees collected by him.
All fines paid to the said * municipal judge for violations of State law shall
be accounted for by him as required by law. All fines for violations of city
ordinances shall be paid monthly into the treasury of the city.

§ 29.10. Procedure.—All procedure in claims and proceedings of
which the * municipal judge is given jurisdiction by clause two of § 29.07
except so far as is herein otherwise provided, shall conform to the proce-
dure applicable to * municipal judges by general law; except that on motion
of either party the adverse party may be required to file the particulars
of the claim or the grounds of defense as provided in § 8-111 of the Code
of Virginia, and except that the proceedings in a cause where an infant or
insane person is party shall not be stayed because of such infancy or in-
sanity, but the * municipal judge shall appoint some competent and dis-
creet attorney at law as guardian ad litem to such infant or insane defend-
ant, whether such defendant shall have been served with the process or
not; or, if no such attorney be found willing to act, the * municipal judge
shall appoint some other discreet and proper person as guardian ad litem,
who shall faithfully represent the interest or estate of the infant or insane
person for whom he is appointed; and any guardian ad litem so appointed
shall be allowed a reasonable fee for his services, which shall be taxed as
a part of the costs of the proceeding; but the said guardian ad litem so ap-
pointed shall not be liable for costs. The * municipal judge, upon render-
ing any judgment, may issue a writ of fieri facias thereon immediately, if
there be not a new trial granted, nor an appeal allowed, nor a stay of exe-
cution; and he may, from time to time, renew such writ of fieri facias
either before or after the expiration of one year from the date of the
judgment.

§ 29.11. Appeals and removals.—lIn all misdemeanors triable before
such * municipal judge under the provisions hereof, there shall be an ap-
peal from his judgment to the circuit court of the city, as is now or may
hereafter be provided by law for appeals from the judgment of * municipal
judges. An appeal may be taken to said circuit court of the city from the
judgment of said * municipal judge imposing a penalty for any infraction
of a city ordinance. In * civil * cases triable before such * municipal judge
there shall be appeals and removals as provided by general law applicable
to municipal courts. In all appeals and removals in civil cases and appeals
in criminal cases the right of appeal or removal and the requirements
therefor and procedure thereon shall be as is now or may hereafter be pro-
vided by law for appeals and removals in municipal courts.

§ 29.12. Dismissal of claims; docket.—If any claim of which the *
municipal judge is given jurisdiction by clause two of § 29.07 shall have
been pending before him sixty days, he shall notify the parties, or their
counsel, that the same will be dismissed in ten days thereafter unless good
cause be shown to the contrary, and, unless such cause be shown within
said ten days, such * municipal judge shall forthwith dismiss such claim.

The * municipal judge shall keep a docket in which shall be entered
all cases, civil and criminal, tried and prosecuted before him, and the final
disposition of the same.

All papers connected with any of the proceedings in the trial of cases
before the * municipal judge, except such as may be removed on appeal or
removal and except also such papers in criminal matters as are required
by law to be returned to and lodged in the clerk’s office of the circuit court
of the city, shall be properly indexed and filed and preserved.

§ 29.13. Rules of practice—The * municipal judge shall have the
power to make and enforce such reasonable rules of practice as are not in
conflict with law.

§ 29.14. Court room, books and stationery.—The council shall pro-
vide a suitable court room for the * municipal judge, and shall furnish all
necessary furniture, books and stationery. Such books shall be under the
control of the * municipal judge and shall remain the property of the city.

§ 29.15. Removal from office.—The * municipal judge may be re-
moved or suspended from office by the circuit court of the city for mal-
feasance, incompetence, gross neglect of official duty, or corruption in of-
fice. All proceedings for such removal or suspension shall be by order of
and on motion before the said circuit court of the city, upon reasonable
notice to the * municipal judge to be affected thereby. Such officer shall
have the right to demand a trial by jury.

§ 29.16. Vacancy.—Any vacancy occurring in the office of * munici-
pal judge arising from the resignation, removal or death of the incumbent
shall be filled by the council by election of a person with the qualifications
prescribed by 8 29.02.

§ 29.17. The * municipal judge shall appoint a clerk for the *
municipal court, who also may be clerk of the juvenile and domestic rela-
tions court * and who shall hold office at the pleasure of such judge. Such
clerk shall keep the docket, records and acts for such court and shall dis-
charge such other duties as may be prescribed by the judge thereof. He
shall account for all fines, costs and other moneys received by him as such
clerk as required by law, giving receipt therefor and making reports as
required by the council. He shall be authorized to administer oaths, qualify
sureties, to take bonds, and admit to bail in misdemeanor cases as the *
municipal judge might do in person and shall have such other authority
as may be prescribed by law for clerks of municipal courts. He shall give
bond payable to the city of Suffolk, in such * amount and in such manner
as is prescribed by law for clerks of municipal courts. The clerk, with the
approval of the city manager, may be a member of the police force of the
city, in which event he shall with respect to his duties as a member of the
police force remain subject to supervision and jurisdiction of the chief of
police and the city manager and shall retain his status as a member of the
police force insofar as his rank, salary and right of retirement are
concerned.

2. An emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.