by KPMLAW | Sep 14, 2015 | KPMBlog, News, Uncategorized
Editor: Janeen Koch, Esquire Author: J.H. Revere, Esquire Those of us at Kalbaugh, Pfund and Messersmith practice every day in the various Courts of this Commonwealth of Virginia, but many of the people we work with do not have the luxury of focusing on a single jurisdiction. The following outline is a very general and simple outline of Virginia’s Court System, that will hopefully help anyone understand where a particular case sits within Virginia’s Court framework. If you have any more detailed questions please do not hesitate to contact any one of KPM’s civil litigation attorneys. We have attorneys admitted to practice in all of these Courts as well as Courts in North Carolina, West Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. As a preliminary matter, Virginia has thirty-one (31) judicial districts comprised of ninety-five (95) counties and thirty-eight (38) independent cities, each with their own court system. For purposes of brevity we will not address Magistrates (who handle only criminal issues), Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts (divorce, child custody, juvenile crime), or the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission (administrative courts). GENERAL DISTRICT COURT The General District Court is the lowest level civil Court in Virginia. They are considered a Court not “of record”. Virginia’s General District Courts have exclusive jurisdiction over matters of less than $4500.00 and concurrent or joint jurisdiction with the Circuit Courts for matters up to $25,000.00 (exclusive of interest). The General District Court has no jurisdiction over matters worth more than $25,000.00 and these matters must be filed in another Court (e.g. Circuit Court). Suits may be filed as a Complaint like in Circuit Court...
