Virginia Court Records

Virginia Court Record Lookup

A judge’s decision frequently takes much effort to enforce, particularly when it means collecting money, enforcing child custody, reclaiming a suspended driver’s license, or enacting an adoption. To follow through on a judge’s orders Virginia VA court records are often necessary. Court records are public documents that can be requested by anyone by performing Virginia court records search.

Limited jurisdiction courts

Magistrate’s courts are located in 8 regions. These Virginia courthouses review complaints filed, conduct hearings, and issue search warrants and subpoenas.

District courts

Juvenile and domestic relations are a division of district courts that handle divorces, Virginia child support cases, custody, delinquency, and crimes committed by minors. These courts are located in each county of Virginia.

District courts are located in 32 regions with jurisdiction over violations of municipal ordinances and criminal misdemeanor cases. Records from these courtrooms are available to obtain via performing Virginia court case lookup.

Trial courts

The general trial courts of Virginia are circuit courts, located in 120 places throughout the state’s 31 judicial circuits. These courts are responsible for general criminal and civil cases as well as hearing appeals of lower court decisions.

Records of court proceedings for most circuits are searchable online as well as Viginia criminal records. Using basic case information it is possible to request official documents from the clerk of the court where the case was heard. Some Virginia court records are inaccessible to the public due to confidentiality laws, including juvenile cases and those that name victim of certain crimes.

Appeals courts

The state’s intermediate court of appeals has jurisdiction over most disputed civil and criminal cases decided in lower courts, as well as judgments from state agencies such as the worker’s compensation commission. Judges sit in panels of three to hear cases.

Virginia’s state supreme court automatically hears appeals of death sentence cases, oversees the state bar and complaints against attorneys and judges, and may take selected appeals from lower courts. Seven justices occupy the bench.

The state supreme court receives about 1,800 case filings per year, a decrease from past years. Anyone can obtain Virginia court records online via conducting Virginia court record lookup.

U.S. District Courts

Federal courts are located in every state, with jurisdiction over violations of federal law, bankruptcy petitions, multi-state lawsuits, and the like. Records of federal cases may be searched online and requests for documents submitted to the appropriate clerk’s office.

Virginia Notable Court Cases

In 2016, the Virginia Supreme Court blocked Governor Terry McAuliffe's move to give more than 200,000 felons in the state their voting rights back. The high court stated in its decision to block the effort that it violated the state's constitution and legal limits of the governor's powers. Although the governor can reinstate voting rights to felons on an individual basis, he cannot grant them as a group and essentially rewrite the current laws on the matter. Bystanders assume this action was to help restore rights to minority groups during an election year to help voter turnout, knowing that minority groups such as African Americans are largely a Democrat-member group. Dissenting justices on the court stated that nowhere in the constitution does it state that the governor cannot reinstate voting rights to felons as a blanket order.

In 2006, Ricky Gray was convicted of murdering seven people on New Year's Day. He was sentenced to death, with an execution scheduled for March 16. His attorney filed for an appeal, allowing for a stay of his execution. They have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear alleged violations of Gray's constitutional rights and inadequate state court reviews. Virginia's Attorney General is asking the court to deny his request for a hearing, stating that Gray's claims have no basis.