Civil Government of Virginia Part 29

SEC. 89. The General a.s.sembly may, from time to time, provide for a Special Court of Appeals to try any cases on the docket of the Supreme Court of Appeals in respect to which a majority of the judges are so situated as to make it improper for them to sit; and also to try any cases on said docket which cannot be disposed of with convenient dispatch. The said special court shall be composed of not less than three nor more than five of the judges of the circuit courts and city courts of record in cities of the first cla.s.s, or of the judges of either of said courts, or of any of the judges of said courts together with one or more of the judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals.

SEC. 90. When a judgment or decree is reversed or affirmed by the Supreme Court of Appeals the reasons therefor shall be stated in writing and preserved with the record of the case.

SEC. 91. The judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be chosen by the joint vote of the two houses of the General a.s.sembly. They shall, when chosen, have held a judicial station in the United States, or shall have practiced law in this or some other state for five years. At the first election under this Const.i.tution, the General a.s.sembly shall elect the judges for terms of four, six, eight, ten, and twelve years respectively; and thereafter they shall be elected for terms of twelve years.

SEC. 92. The officers of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be appointed by the court or by the judges in vacation. Their duties, compensation, and tenure of office shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 93. The Supreme Court of Appeals shall hold its sessions at two or more places in the State, to be fixed by law.

SEC. 94. The State shall be divided into twenty-four judicial circuits, as follows:

The counties of Norfolk, Princess Anne, and the city of Portsmouth, shall const.i.tute the first circuit.

The counties of Nansemond, Southampton, Isle of Wight, and the city of Norfolk, shall const.i.tute the second circuit.

The counties of Prince George, Surry, Suss.e.x, Greenesville, and Brunswick, shall const.i.tute the third circuit.

The counties of Chesterfield, Powhatan, Dinwiddie, Nottoway, and Amelia, and the city of Petersburg, shall const.i.tute the fourth circuit.

The counties of Prince Edward, c.u.mberland, Buckingham, Appomattox, and Charlotte, shall const.i.tute the fifth circuit.

The counties of Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Halifax, Campbell, and the city of Lynchburg, shall const.i.tute the sixth circuit.

The counties of Pittsylvania, Franklin, Henry, and Patrick, and the city of Danville, shall const.i.tute the seventh circuit.

The counties of Amherst, Nelson, Albemarle, Fluvanna, and Coochland, shall const.i.tute the eighth circuit.

The counties of Rappahannock, Culpeper, Madison, Greene, Orange, and Louisa, shall const.i.tute the ninth circuit.

The county of Henrico and the city of Richmond, shall const.i.tute the tenth circuit.

The counties of Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, and the city of Newport News, shall const.i.tute the eleventh circuit.

The counties of Richmond, Northumberland, Westmoreland, Lancaster, and Ess.e.x, shall const.i.tute the twelfth circuit.

The counties of Gloucester, Mathews, King and Queen, King William, and Middles.e.x, shall const.i.tute the thirteenth circuit.

The counties of New Kent, Charles City, York, Warwick, James City, and the city of Williamsburg, shall const.i.tute the fourteenth circuit.

The counties of King George, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline, and Hanover, shall const.i.tute the fifteenth circuit.

The counties of Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Fairfax, and Alexandria, and the city of Alexandria, shall const.i.tute the sixteenth circuit.

The counties of Frederick, Clarke, Warren, Shenandoah, and Page, shall const.i.tute the seventeenth circuit.

The counties of Rockingham, Augusta, and Rockbridge, shall const.i.tute the eighteenth circuit.

The counties of Highland, Bath, Alleghany, Craig, and Botecourt, shall const.i.tute the nineteenth circuit.

The counties of Bedford, Roanoke, Montgomery, and Floyd, and the city of Roanoke, shall const.i.tute the twentieth circuit.

The counties of Pulaski, Carroll, Wythe, and Grayson, shall const.i.tute the twenty-first circuit.

The counties of Bland, Tazewell, Giles, and Buchanan, shall const.i.tute the twenty-second circuit.

The counties of Washington, Russell, and Smyth, shall const.i.tute the twenty-third circuit.

The counties of Scott, Lee, Wise, and d.i.c.kenson, shall const.i.tute the twenty-fourth circuit.

SEC. 95. After the first day of January, nineteen hundred and six, as the public interest requires, the General a.s.sembly may rearrange the said circuits and increase or diminish the number thereof. But no new circuit shall be created containing, by the last United States census or other census provided by law, less than forty thousand inhabitants, nor when the effect of creating it will be to reduce the number of inhabitants in any existing circuit below forty thousand according to such census.

SEC. 96. For each circuit a judge shall be chosen by the joint vote of the two houses of the General a.s.sembly. He shall when chosen, possess the same qualifications as judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and during his continuance in office shall reside in the circuit of which he is judge. At the first election under this Const.i.tution, the General a.s.sembly shall elect, as nearly as practicable, one fourth of the entire number of judges for terms of two years, one fourth for four years, one fourth for six years, and the remaining fourth for eight years, respectively, and thereafter they shall be elected for terms of eight years.

SEC 97 The number of terms of the circuit courts to be held for each county and city, shall be prescribed by law. But no separate circuit court shall be held for any city of the second cla.s.s, until the city shall abolish its existing city court. The judge of one circuit may be required or authorized to hold court in any other circuit or city.

SEC 98 For the purposes of a judicial system, the cities of the State shall be divided into two cla.s.ses. All cities shall belong to the first cla.s.s which contain, as shown by the last United States census or other census provided by law, ten thousand inhabitants or more, and all cities shall belong to the second cla.s.s which contain, as thus shown, less than ten thousand inhabitants. In each city of the first cla.s.s, there shall be, in addition to the circuit court, a corporation court. In any city containing thirty thousand inhabitants or more, the General a.s.sembly may provide for such additional courts as the public interest may require, and in every such city the city courts, as they now exist, shall continue until otherwise provided by law. In every city of the second cla.s.s, the corporation or hustings court existing, at the time this Const.i.tution goes into effect, shall continue hereafter under the name of the corporation court of such city, but it may be abolished by a vote of a majority of the qualified electors of such city, at an election held for the purpose, and whenever the office of judge of a corporation or hustings court of a city of the second cla.s.s, whose salary is less than eight hundred dollars, shall become and remain vacant for ninety days consecutively, such court shall thereby cease to exist. In case of the abolition of the corporation or hustings court of any city of the second cla.s.s, such city shall thereupon come in every respect within the jurisdiction of the circuit court of the county wherein it is situated, until otherwise provided by law, and the records of such corporation or hustings court shall thereupon become a part of the records of such circuit court, and be transferred thereto, and remain therein until otherwise provided by law, and during the existence of the corporation or hustings court, the circuit court of the county in which such city is situated, shall have concurrent jurisdiction with said corporation or hustings court in all actions at law and suits in equity.

SEC 99 For each city court of record a judge shall be chosen by the joint vote of the two houses of the General a.s.sembly. He shall, when chosen, possess the same qualifications as judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and during his continuance in office shall reside within the jurisdiction of the court over which he presides, but the judge of the corporation court of any corporation having a city charter, and less than five thousand inhabitants, may reside outside its corporate limits; and the same person may be judge of such corporation court and judge of the corporation court of some other city having less than ten thousand inhabitants. At the first election of said judges under this Const.i.tution, the General a.s.sembly shall elect, as nearly as practicable, one-fourth of the entire number for terms of two years, one-fourth for four years, one-fourth for six years, and the remaining fourth for eight years; and thereafter they shall be elected for terms of eight years. The judges of city courts in cities of the first cla.s.s may be required or authorized to hold the circuit courts of any county and the circuit courts of any city.

SEC. 100. The General a.s.sembly shall have power to establish such court or courts of land registration as it may deem proper for the administration of any law it may adopt for the purpose of the settlement, registration, transfer, or a.s.surance of t.i.tles to land in the State, or any part thereof.

SEC. 101. The General a.s.sembly shall have power to confer upon the clerks of the several circuit courts jurisdiction, to be exercised in the manner and under the regulations to be prescribed by law, in the matter of the admission of wills to probate, and of the appointment and qualification of guardians, personal representatives, curators, appraisers, and committees of the estates of persons who have been adjudged insane or convicted of felony, and in the matter of the subst.i.tution of trustees.

SEC. 102. All the judges shall be commissioned by the Governor.

They shall receive such salaries and allowances as may be determined by law within the limitations fixed by this Const.i.tution, the amount of which shall not be increased or diminished during their terms of office. Their terms of office shall commence on the first day of February next following their election, and whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of judge, his successor shall be elected for the unexpired term.

SEC. 103. The salaries of the judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be not less than four thousand dollars per annum, and shall be paid by the State.

The salary of the judge of each circuit court shall be not less than two thousand dollars per annum, one-half of which shall be paid by the State, the other half by the counties and cities composing the circuit, according to their respective population; except that of the salary of the judge of the circuit court of the city of Richmond, the State shall pay the proportion which would otherwise fall to the city of Richmond. The salary of a judge of a city court in a city of the first cla.s.s shall be not less than two thousand dollars per annum, one-half of which shall be paid by the State, the other half by the city. The whole of the aforesaid salaries of said judges shall be paid out of the state treasury, the State to be reimbursed by the respective counties and cities.

Any city may, by an ordinance, increase the salaries of its city or circuit judges, or any one or more of them as it may deem proper, and the increase shall be paid wholly by the city, but shall not be enlarged or diminished during the term of office of the judge. Each city containing less than ten thousand inhabitants shall pay the salary of the judge of its corporation or hustings court.

SEC. 104. Judges may be removed from office for cause, by a concurrent vote of both houses of the General a.s.sembly; but a majority of all the members elected to each house must concur in such vote, and the cause of removal shall be entered on the journal of each house. The judge against whom the General a.s.sembly may be about to proceed shall have notice thereof, accompanied by a copy of the causes alleged for his removal, at least twenty days before the day on which either house of the General a.s.sembly shall act thereon.

SEC. 105. No judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals, of the circuit court, or of any city court of record shall practice law, within or without this State, nor shall he hold any other office of public-trust during his continuance in office; except that the judge of a corporation or hustings court in a city of the second cla.s.s, may hold the office of commissioner in chancery of the circuit court for the county in which the city is located.

SEC. 106. Writs shall run in the name of the "Commonwealth of Virginia," and be attested by the clerks of the several courts.

Indictments shall conclude "against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth."

SEC. 107. An Attorney-General shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State at the same time and for the same term as the Governor; and the fact of his election shall be ascertained in the same manner. He shall be commissioned by the Governor, perform such duties and receive such compensation as may be prescribed by law, and shall be removable in the manner prescribed for the removal of judges.

SEC 108. The General a.s.sembly shall provide for the appointment or election and for the jurisdiction of such justices of the peace as the public interest may require.

SEC. 109. The General a.s.sembly shall provide by whom, and in what manner, applications for bail shall be heard and determined.

ARTICLE VII.