The Judiciary of Virginia is defined under the Constitution and law of Virginia and is composed of the Supreme Court of Virginia and subordinate courts, including the Court of Appeals, the Circuit Courts, and the General District Courts. Its administration is headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Judicial Council, the Committee on District Courts, the Judicial Conferences, the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission, and various other offices and officers.
Courts
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is made up of seven justices. It primarily hears appeals from the trial-level city and county Virginia Circuit Courts.
Although the Supreme Court of Virginia possesses both original and appellate jurisdiction, its primary function is to review decisions of lower courts, including the Court of Appeals, from which appeals have been allowed. Virginia does not allow an appeal to the Supreme Court as a matter of right except in cases involving the State Corporation Commission, attorney disciplinary actions including the disbarment of an attorney, and review of the death penalty.
The court's original jurisdiction is limited to cases of habeas corpus (ordering one holding custody to produce the detained person before the court for the purpose of determining whether such custody is proper), mandamus (ordering the holder of an office to perform his duty), prohibition (ordering an action stopped in a lower court), and writs of actual innocence pursuant to Virginia's Code § 19.2–327.2. It also has original jurisdiction for challenges to decisions of the State Corporation Commission pursuant to Article IX of the Constitution of Virginia. The Supreme Court also has original jurisdiction in matters filed by the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission relating to judicial censure, retirement, and removal of judges.
Court of Appeals
The Court of Appeals of Virginia hears appeals from decisions of Virginia's circuit courts and the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. It is composed of eleven judges, and sits in panels of at least three judges, and sometimes hears cases en banc. Appeals from the Court of Appeals go to the Supreme Court of Virginia.
The Court of Appeals has authority to hear appeals as a matter of right from:
any final judgment, order, or decree of a circuit court involving affirmance or annulment of a marriage, divorce, custody, spousal or child support, or control or disposition of a child, as well as other domestic relations cases; any final decision of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission (a state agency responsible for handling workers' compensation claims); any final decision of a circuit court on appeal from a decision of an administrative agency (example: the Department of Health); and any interlocutory order granting, dissolving, or denying an injunction or adjudicating the principles of a cause in any of the cases listed above.
The Court of Appeals has authority to consider petitions for appeal from:
final orders of conviction in criminal and traffic matters except where a death penalty is imposed; final decisions of a circuit court on an application for a concealed weapons permit; and certain preliminary rulings in felony cases when requested by the Commonwealth.
The Court of Appeals has original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus, prohibition and habeas corpus in any case over which the Court would have appellate jurisdiction. In addition, the Court of Appeals has original jurisdiction to issue a writ of actual innocence upon petition of a person who has been convicted of a felony upon a plea of not guilty.
Circuit Courts
The Virginia Circuit Courts are the state trial courts of general jurisdiction. The state has 120 Circuit Courts divided among 31 judicial circuits.
The Circuit Courts have jurisdiction to hear civil and criminal cases. For civil cases, the courts have authority to try cases with an amount in controversy of more than $4,500 and have exclusive original jurisdiction over claims for more than $25,000. In criminal matters, the Circuit Courts are the trial courts for all felony charges and for misdemeanors originally charged there. The Circuit Courts also have appellate jurisdiction for any case from the Virginia General District Courts (the trial courts of limited jurisdiction in Virginia) claiming more than $50, which are tried de novo in the Circuit Courts.