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Virginia Circuit Court
The Virginia Circuit Courts are the state trial courts of general jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia. 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. The state has 120 courts divided among 31 judicial circuits. Judges of the Virginia Circuit Courts are appointed by the legislature, and serve an eight-year term, after which they may be reappointed. The only mandatory qualification for appointment as a Circuit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
State Court (United States)
In the United States, a state court has jurisdiction over disputes with some connection to a U.S. state. State courts handle the vast majority of civil and criminal cases in the United States; the United States federal courts are far smaller in terms of both personnel and caseload, and handle different types of cases. Each state "is free to organize its courts as it sees fit," and consequently, "no two states have identical court structures." Generally, state courts are common law courts, and apply their respective state laws and procedures to decide cases. They are organized pursuant to and apply the law in accordance with their state's constitution, state statutes, and binding decisions of courts in their state court hierarchy. Where applicable, they also apply federal law. Generally, a single judicial officer, usually called a judge, exercises original jurisdiction by presiding over contested criminal or civil actions which culminate in trials, although most matters stop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virginia State Bar
The Virginia State Bar (VSB) is the administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia created to regulate, improve and advance the legal profession in Virginia. Membership in good standing in the VSB is mandatory for attorneys wishing to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The VSB is thus an integrated bar. Organization The VSB is governed by its Council and Executive Committee, whose members are elected or appointed from the judicial circuits in the Commonwealth. The Virginia Lawyermagazine,'' which includes the ''Virginia Lawyer Register'', is the official publication of the VSB, distributed to lawyers, judges, general subscribers, law libraries, other state bar associations and the media. VSB publishes numerous pamphlets, handbooks and other publications to aid members and the public. For 45 years, the VSB has also run thVirginia Lawyer Referral Servicethat provides callers to the service with the name of an attorney who practices in the caller's requested ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venue (law)
In law, the venue is the location where a case is heard. United States Criminal venue The perceived abuse of English criminal venue law was one of the enumerated grievances in the United States Declaration of Independence, which accused George III of the United Kingdom of "transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offenses."U.S. Declaration of Independence. Article Three of the United States Constitution provides: "Trial of all Crimes . . . shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed." The "where the said Crimes shall have been committed" language refers to the locus delicti, and a single crime may often give rise to several constitutionally permissible venues. " e ''locus delicti'' must be determined from the nature of the crime alleged and the location of the act or acts constituting it." Thus, venue may be cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long-arm Statute
Long-arm jurisdiction is the ability of local courts to exercise jurisdiction over foreign ("foreign" meaning out of jurisdiction, whether a state, province, or nation) defendants, whether on a statutory basis or through a court's inherent jurisdiction (depending on the jurisdiction). This jurisdiction permits a court to hear a case against a defendant and enter a binding judgment against a defendant residing outside the jurisdiction concerned. At heart, the constraints on long arm jurisdiction are concepts of international law, and the principle that one country ought not exercise state power over the territory of another unless some recognized exception applies. In municipal law, the authority of a court to exercise long-arm jurisdiction must be based upon some action of the defendant which subjects him or her to the jurisdiction of the court. United States Jurisprudence The United States Supreme Court, in ''International Shoe v. Washington'' and later on in ''World-Wide Volksw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Personal Jurisdiction
Personal jurisdiction is a court's jurisdiction over the ''parties'', as determined by the facts in evidence, which bind the parties to a lawsuit, as opposed to subject-matter jurisdiction, which is jurisdiction over the ''law'' involved in the suit. Without personal jurisdiction over a party, a court's rulings or decrees cannot be enforced upon that party, except by comity; i.e., to the extent that the sovereign which has jurisdiction over the party allows the court to enforce them upon that party. A court that has ''personal'' jurisdiction has both the authority to rule on the law and facts of a suit and the power to enforce its decision upon a party to the suit. In some cases, territorial jurisdiction may also constrain a court's reach, such as preventing hearing of a case concerning events occurring on foreign territory between two citizens of the home jurisdiction. A similar principle is that of standing or ''locus standi'', which is the ability of a party to demonstrate to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person ( executor) is to manage the property until its final distribution. For the distribution (devolution) of property not determined by a will, see inheritance and intestacy. Though it has at times been thought that a "will" historically applied only to real property while "testament" applied only to personal property (thus giving rise to the popular title of the document as "last will and testament"), the historical records show that the terms have been used interchangeably. Thus, the word "will" validly applies to both personal and real property. A will may also create a testamentary trust that is effective only after the death of the testator. History Throughout most of the world, the disposition of a dead person's estate has been a matter of social custom. According to Plutarch, the written will was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Probate
Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the state of residence of the deceased at time of death in the absence of a legal will. The granting of probate is the first step in the legal process of administering the estate (law), estate of a deceased person, resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under a will. A probate court decides the legal validity of a testator's (deceased person's) will and grants its approval, also known as granting probate, to the executor. The probated will then becomes a legal instrument that may be enforced by the executor in the law courts if necessary. A probate also officially appoints the executor (or personal representative), generally named in the will, as having legal power to dispose of the testator's assets in the manner sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Child Custody
Child custody is a legal term regarding '' guardianship'' which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of ''legal custody'', which is the right to make decisions about the child, and ''physical custody'', which is the right and duty to house, provide and care for the child. Married parents normally have joint legal and physical custody of their children. Decisions about child custody typically arise in proceedings involving divorce, annulment, separation, adoption or parental death. In most jurisdictions child custody is determined in accordance with the best interests of the child standard. Following ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in most countries, terms such as parental responsibility, "residence" and "contact" (also known as "visitation", "conservatorship" or "parenting time" in the United States) have superseded the concepts of " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure within Law, secular and Religious law, religious legal systems for declaring a marriage Void (law), null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually ex post facto law, retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place (though some jurisdictions provide that the marriage is only void from the date of the annulment; for example, this is the case in section 12 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 in England and Wales). In legal terminology, an annulment makes a void marriage or a voidable marriage null.John L. Esposito (2002), Women in Muslim Family Law, Syracuse University Press, , pp. 33–34 Void vs voidable marriage A difference exists between a ''void marriage'' and a ''voidable marriage''. A void marriage is a marriage that was not legally valid under the laws of the jurisdiction where the marriage occurred, and is void (law), void ''ab initio''. Although the marriage i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the bonds of matrimony between a married couple under the rule of law of the particular country or state. Divorce laws vary considerably around the world, but in most countries, divorce requires the sanction of a court or other authority in a legal process, which may involve issues of distribution of property, child custody, alimony (spousal support), child visitation / access, parenting time, child support, and division of debt. In most countries, monogamy is required by law, so divorce allows each former partner to marry another person. Divorce is different from annulment, which declares the marriage null and void, with legal separation or ''de jure'' separation (a legal process by which a married couple may formalize a ''de facto'' se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domestic Relations
In the common law tradition, the law of domestic relations is a broad category that encompasses: * divorce; * property settlements; * alimony, spousal support, or other maintenance; * the establishment of paternity; * the establishment or termination of parental rights; * child support; * child custody; * visitation; * adoption; and * Emancipation of minors. In some jurisdictions, guardianships, truancy, and matters related to juvenile delinquency are considered part of the law of domestic relations. Many sorts of dispute fall into this broad category; many people who will not otherwise have any dealings during their lives with the judicial system have domestic relations disputes. Because of the volume of legal business generated by the law of domestic relations, a number of jurisdictions have established specialized court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission
The Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission (VWC) is an agency of the U.S. state of Virginia that oversees the resolution of workers' compensation claims brought in that state, in accordance with the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act. The Commission has exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate such claims. Its decisions may be appealed to the Virginia Court of Appeals. The Commission is led by a Senior Leadership team consisting of three Commissioners, an Executive Director and a Chief Deputy Commissioner. The Commissioners are appointed by the Virginia General Assembly and serve staggered six-year terms. Honorable Robert A. Rapaport, Honorable Wesley G. Marshall and Honorable R. Ferrell Newman currently serve as Commissioners. The Commissioners elect a Chairman for a term of three years. Commissioner Rapaport currently serves as Chairman. Ms. Evelyn McGill is the Commission’s Executive Director and Honorable James J. Szablewicz is the Commission’s Chief Deputy Commissioner. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
