The Virginia General District Court (GDC) is the lowest level of the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

system, and is the court that most Virginians have contact with. The jurisdiction of the GDC is generally limited to traffic cases and other misdemeanors, civil cases involving amounts of under $25,000. There are 32 GDC districts, each having at least one

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

, and each having a

clerk of the court A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to wit ...

and a

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

with

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

facilities. The GDCs are not

courts of record A court of record is a trial court or appellate court in which a record of the proceedings is captured and preserved, for the possibility of appeal. A court clerk or a court reporter takes down a record of oral proceedings. That written record ( ...

, meaning that they do not keep detailed records of their proceedings and their decisions provide no precedent to be cited in other proceedings. Proceedings before the GDC are less formal than those brought before higher courts in the state. They do not conduct

jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a signific ...

s; cases are heard and decided by the judge. In civil cases, they are only empowered to award legal damages, and generally cannot provide remedies in

equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership *Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the diff ...

, such as

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in p ...

s or

declaratory judgment A declaratory judgment, also called a declaration, is the legal determination of a court that resolves legal uncertainty for the litigants. It is a form of legally binding preventive by which a party involved in an actual or possible legal ma ...

Jurisdiction and venue

Subject-matter jurisdiction

The

subject-matter jurisdiction Subject-matter jurisdiction (also called jurisdiction ''ratione materiae')'' is the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter. For instance, bankruptcy court only has the authority ...

of the GDC is narrow, both with respect to civil cases and criminal cases. With respect to civil claims, it has sole authority to try cases involving amounts of $4,500 or less. It shares authority with the

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 a ...

to try cases involving sums between $4,500 and $25,000. The

amount in controversy Amount in controversy (sometimes called jurisdictional amount) is a term used in civil procedure to denote the amount at stake in a lawsuit, in particular in connection with a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular cour ...

is determined without considering

interest In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distin ...

attorney's fees Attorney's fee is a chiefly United States term for compensation for legal services performed by an attorney ( lawyer or law firm) for a client, in or out of court. It may be an hourly, flat-rate or contingent fee. Recent studies suggest that whe ...

, even if recovery of these costs is specified in the contract. Within these limitations, the GDC can hear cases in

tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

, and actions in

detinue In tort law, detinue () is an action to recover for the wrongful taking of personal property. It is initiated by an individual who claims to have a greater right to their immediate possession than the current possessor. For an action in detinue ...

seeking the return of wrongfully held

personal property property is property that is movable. In common law systems, personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In civil law systems, personal property is often called movable property or movables—any property that can be moved fr ...

. In determining whether the amount involved falls within the

requirement, interest payments and

contracted for in a written instrument. In cases involving unlawful

detainer Detainer (from detain, Latin detinere); originally in British law, the act of keeping a person against his will, or the wrongful keeping of a person's goods, or other real or personal property. A writ of detainer was a form for the beginning of a pe ...

of real estate used for ''business'', ''commercial'', or ''agricultural'' purposes, the GDC may hear cases involving claims of rent owed and property damage without limitation. If the real estate is used for residential purposes, then the $25,000 limit applies. The maximum jurisdictional limits do not apply to any claim, counter-claim or cross-claim in an unlawful detainer action that includes a claim for damages or rent against any person obligated on a residential lease. The GDC may issue

distress warrants Distress may refer to: * Distress (medicine), an aversive state in which a person shows maladaptive behaviors * Mental distress (or psychological distress) * Distress, or distraint, the act of seizing goods to compel payment * ''Distress'' (novel ...

establishing the rights of a creditor to seize property, again without limit as to the amount. Conversely, the GDC may order the attachment of

valued up to $25,000, but has no authority to order the attachment of real estate, no matter how low the value. With respect to criminal cases, the GDC may only try

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

s. The GDC also has no authority over domestic relations matters such as

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 th ...

annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning al ...

, and

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 ri ...

, nor does it have authority over the

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 st ...

of wills, which are directed to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Circuit Courts. The only injunctive relief that the GDC may grant is in enforcing the state's

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act * ...

Personal jurisdiction

The GDC must also be able to exercise

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 ...

over the defendant, which may be premised on the defendant's physical presence in the jurisdiction, or on the occurrence of some element of the cause of action in the jurisdiction. Personal jurisdiction is predicated on Virginia's

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 jurisdi ...

, which generally permits Virginia courts to exercise personal jurisdiction over a party that resides in Virginia, or transacts substantial business in Virginia, or who caused an actionable injury in Virginia. A party may waive a lack of personal jurisdiction, but may also appear in court to contest personal jurisdiction without thereby waiving the issue.

Venue

In terms of

venue Venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to: Locations * Venue (law), the place a case is heard * Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur * Music venue, place used for a concer ...

, where personal jurisdiction lies in multiple districts, the appropriate venue for the case to be heard is set forth by Virginia statutes, which divides possible venues as "Category A" (preferred) and "Category B" (permissible), and requires that Category B venue may only be used where no Category A venue is available. For example, in a dispute over the ownership of land, Category A venue lies where the land is located. Most Category A venue provisions of the Virginia statutes are inapplicable to the GDC, which does not have subject matter jurisdiction over divorce and probate matters, and can not issue injunctions. In the types of cases that can be heard in the GDC, venue is generally deemed ''objectionable'' if it is not where the defendant resides or has a registered office or registered agent, or where some part of the action arose.

Civil procedure

Initiating litigation

GDC proceedings are relatively informal. It is not necessary to file formal

pleadings In law as practiced in countries that follow the English models, a pleading is a formal written statement of a party's claims or defenses to another party's claims in a civil action. The parties' pleadings in a case define the issues to be adjud ...

. Rather, a plaintiff can fill out and serve the defendant with a "civil warrant", which is a form provided by the Clerk of the Court containing blanks to be filled in identifying the parties and the cause of action. Alternatively, the plaintiff can draft his own "notice of motion for judgment". The notice provided to the defendant must instruct the defendant of several things. It must explain how the trial date will be set; it must inform the defendant that failure to appear and contest the claim can result in a default being entered; and, under something of a quirk of Virginia law, it must tell the defendant how they may object to

. The defendant need not file an answer at all, but can simply show up in court on the designated "return date" and contest the claim. The civil warrant may be served on the defendant by the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

or deputy of the county in which the defendant resides, unless the plaintiff opts to have service of process effected by an officer of the court. The return date is the date on which the defendant must appear in court, and can be anywhere from 5 to 60 days after service of process is effected. If the defendant feels that the plaintiff has not provided enough information about the cause of action, he may file a motion for a "bill of particulars", and if the court grants such a motion then the plaintiff will be ordered to provide the requested details. If the cause of action is premised on a written instrument such as a contract or a deed, the original document must be provided to the court, and the defendant may use a motion for a bill of particulars to compel the production of this document as well. The plaintiff, on the other hand, may file a motion for "grounds of defense", which, if granted, will result in an order requiring the defendant to submit a written response indicating the defenses that it intends to assert. If the plaintiff fails to respond to a bill of particulars, or the defendant fails to provide requested grounds of defense, the court may enter

summary judgment In law, a summary judgment (also judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition) is a judgment entered by a court for one party and against another party summarily, i.e., without a full trial. Summary judgments may be issued on the merits of ...

against the non-responsive party. A defendant may also file a

counterclaim In a court of law, a party's claim is a counterclaim if one party asserts claims in response to the claims of another. In other words, if a plaintiff initiates a lawsuit and a defendant responds to the lawsuit with claims of their own against th ...

against the plaintiff, or a

cross-claim A crossclaim is a claim asserted between codefendants or coplaintiffs in a case and that relates to the subject of the original claim or counterclaim according to ''Black's Law Dictionary''. A cross claim is filed against someone who is a co-de ...

against a co-defendant, at any point before the trial begins, so long as the amount is within the jurisdictional limits of the GDC. Failure to file a counterclaim, however, does not effect a

waiver A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. Regulatory agencies of state departments or the federal government may issue waivers to exempt companies from certain regulations. For example, a United St ...

of that counterclaim. A defendant may implead a third party anytime within ten days after service of process has been effected, up until the trial date, so long as the third party receives effective service of process. However, Virginia law prohibits a defendant from impleading a joint tortfeasor against whom the plaintiff is prohibited from recovering (such as plaintiff's employer in a negligent injury case, which would be covered by the state's

workman's compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

). Virginia law does not recognize the doctrine of necessary and indispensable parties, so the inability to implead a party will not affect the court's jurisdiction over the case. The GDC can also entertain

interpleader Interpleader is a civil procedure device that allows a plaintiff or a defendant to initiate a lawsuit in order to compel two or more other parties to litigate a dispute. An interpleader action originates when the plaintiff holds property on beha ...

causes of action, allowing a party holding something of value to force all competing claimants to litigate which of them has the superior claim. As with other causes of action, the jurisdictional limitations must be met. It must be remembered that the GDC has no injunctive power; while the Circuit Courts can issue injunctions prohibiting parties from litigating the interpleader claim in other forums, the GDC can not prevent this. Finally, there is no right of intervention in GDC proceedings; a third party that wishes to become a party to a pending case can not do so except on a motion of an existing party to the case.

Discovery and trial

There is virtually no pretrial

discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discove ...

available at the GDC level. However, a

witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

may be compelled to appear at the trial itself through a

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

, and may be required to bring documents through a

subpoena duces tecum A ''subpoena duces tecum'' (pronounced in English ), or subpoena for production of evidence, is a court summons ordering the recipient to appear before the court and produce documents or other tangible evidence for use at a hearing or trial. In s ...

. The party seeking to subpoena a witness must file a request for subpoena at least 15 days before trial, or else they will have to show "good cause" for why a subpoena should issue. As there are no juries in the GDC, trial is relatively fast and informal. Evidence is presented by oral testimony of witnesses, although personal injury damages may be proved by written records from a hospital or health care provider. If a written medical report by a health care provider is introduced, the party seeking to introduce it must notify the other party at least 10 days before the trial. The health care provider must swear out a statement affirming that they treated this patient and attesting that the report fully describes the injury, and is true and accurate as to the description of the injury and any statement of costs.

Post-trial motions

A party seeking a rehearing of a judgment must file the motion requesting this relief within 21 days of entry of the judgment. The cases are divided on whether the court must rule on the motion during the 21-day period.See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Fields, 88 Va. Cir. 151, 2014 Va. Cir. LEXIS 13 (Va. Cir. Ct. 2014).

Appeals

Appeals from the GDC for civil matters in excess of $50, and for all criminal and traffic cases, go to the

, where they are re-tried '' de novo'' (because the GDC does not generate a record to be reviewed for error). The appellant in the Circuit Court will then be entitled to a

, even if they were not entitled to one in the GDC. If the case is a criminal case or traffic infraction, the appellant will automatically receive a

in the Circuit Court unless they affirmatively waive this right. For civil cases on appeal, the appellant must request a jury; if no such request is made, then the appeal will be heard by a Circuit Court judge alone. Cases heard in the GDC may not be directly appealed to any court other than the Circuit Court, although the decisions of the Circuit Court are subject to further appellate review. In determining whether the matter exceeds $50, the Circuit Court looks to the recovery achieved by the plaintiff. If, for example, the plaintiff seeks $3,000 and recovers $2,960, the plaintiff will have ''no'' right to appeal, but the defendant will (having been assessed a judgment well in excess of $50). On retrial in the Circuit Court brought about by an appeal from the defendant, the plaintiff may seek leave to amend to increase the claim to an amount in excess of the $25,000 limitation of the GDC. To appeal a case from the GDC to the Circuit Court, a notice of appeal must be filed with the clerk of the GDC within 10 days after a judgment or conviction has been entered by the GDC. The appellant must then post a bond and pay a writ tax in the GDC within 30 days of the judgment, or within 10 days of the judgment if the case is one of unlawful detainer.

References

{{reflist

External links

Virginia General District Courts
Virginia law Virginia state courts Courts and tribunals with year of establishment missing