How Virginia's Courts Work
The structure of a Virginia traffic case: what a magistrate can and cannot do, how general district and circuit court split the work, and who prosecutes.
4 guides
Virginia does not have one court that hears everything. A traffic case usually starts with the summons an officer writes at the roadside and is heard in a general district court; a magistrate — a judicial officer, not a judge — comes first only where there was an arrest rather than a citation. An appeal, if there is one, is tried again from scratch in circuit court.
These pages explain the roles rather than the buildings: what each level of the system is authorized to do under the Code of Virginia, and the two facts almost every other site gets wrong — that a magistrate cannot convict or sentence anyone, and that many misdemeanor and infraction traffic dockets are never staffed by a Commonwealth's Attorney at all.
All guides
- Virginia Circuit Court: What It Handles and How Appeals Work
Virginia circuit court handles felonies, larger civil cases, and appeals from general district court, with a jury available. Here is what that means for a case.
- Does a Commonwealth's Attorney Prosecute Your Traffic Ticket?
For an ordinary Virginia traffic ticket, no one is legally required to prosecute it. Here is what the Commonwealth's Attorney's statute actually assigns.
- What a Virginia Magistrate Can and Cannot Do
A Virginia magistrate is not a judge: no trial, no verdict, no sentence. State law lists seven powers a magistrate actually has, from warrants to bail.
- Circuit Court vs. General District Court: The Real Differences
Circuit court vs. general district court: district court hears traffic cases with no jury; circuit court hears felonies and appeals, jury included.