Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-186

When accused to be discharged, tried, committed or bailed by judge

Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case Fisher v. Commonwealth (1977)

Most recently applied in Commonwealth v. Painter (May 2004)

Code 1950, § 19.1-106; 1960, c. 366; 1968, c. 639; 1973, c. 485; 1975, c. 495; 1999, cc. 829, 846.

How often courts cite this section

1977198019902000200410
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

The judge shall discharge the accused if he considers that there is not sufficient cause for charging him with the offense.

If a judge considers that there is sufficient cause only to charge the accused with an offense which the judge has jurisdiction to try, then he shall try the accused for such offense and convict him if he deems him guilty and pass judgment upon him in accordance with law just as if the accused had first been brought before him on a warrant charging him with such offense.

If a judge considers that there is sufficient cause to charge the accused with an offense that he does not have jurisdiction to try then he shall certify the case to the appropriate court having jurisdiction and shall commit the accused to jail or let him to bail pursuant to the provisions of Article 1 (§ 19.2-119 et seq.) of Chapter 9 of this title.

Official source: Virginia Law Portal (LIS). Reproduced from public-domain Virginia statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.