About the AgencyThere is a circuit court in each city and county in Virginia. The circuit court is the trial court with the broadest powers in Virginia. The circuit court handles all civil cases with claims of more than $25,000. It shares authority with the general district court to hear matters involving claims between $4,500 and $25,000. The circuit court has the authority to hear serious criminal cases called felonies. Show
The circuit court also handles family matters, including divorce. In addition, the circuit court hears cases appealed from the general district court and from the juvenile and domestic relations district court. General District Court Schedule About the Court The General
District Court processes a variety of civil, criminal and traffic cases. In criminal cases, the General District Court handles misdemeanors and violations of ordinances and bylaws of the County and the towns within the district. It also conducts preliminary hearings for felony criminal cases. ResponsibilitiesJudicial districts in the Commonwealth generally cover the same geographic area as judicial circuits and every county in the state has a General District Court. The General Assembly annually determines the number of judges to be assigned in each District based on a study made by a state-wide committee. The General Assembly also selects the judges who will sit on the Court, establishes their compensation and pays them directly. No local supplement to their pay is permitted. The number and compensation for substitute judges, clerks and other Court personnel are also set by the State and cannot be supplemented. The County is required to provide adequate and suitable space for the Court and pay for furniture, equipment and office expenses. CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) GUIDANCE Mask Policy
News & AnnouncementsConsistent with ongoing efforts to return to more normal operations, the Court withdraws the mask More » The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia proposes changes to Local C More » Other ResourcesOther Court LinksCourt Locations600 Granby Street 401 Courthouse Square 701 East Broad Street 2400 West Avenue Can you look up court cases in Virginia?Cases may be searched by locality using name, case number, or hearing date. Online secure remote access to circuit court land records (as defined in Virginia Code §17.1-292) such as deeds, marriage licenses, judgments, and wills for select courts. Note: Registration with the local Circuit Court Clerk is required.
How do I find my local court cases?PACER allows anyone with an account to search and locate appellate, district, and bankruptcy court case and docket information. Register for a PACER account. Use the PACER Case Locator if you are not sure which specific federal court the case was filed.
How do I find court records in Virginia?Please call 804-371-9141 or email [email protected] with general questions and records requests. You may visit the Document Control Center to review case documents. The Document Control Center is in the Clerk's Office, on the 1st floor of the SCC's headquarters at 1300 East Main Street, in downtown Richmond.
Are court cases public record?The records of every court of justice shall be public records and shall be available for the inspection of any interested person, at all proper business hours, under the supervision of the clerk having custody of such records, unless the court shall, in any special case, have forbidden their publicity, in the interest ...
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