Va. Code » Title 16.1. Courts Not of Record » Chapter 11. Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts » Article 3. Jurisdiction and Venue
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 16.1-242 (2026)

Retention of jurisdiction

✓ current as of May 2026
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When jurisdiction has been obtained by the court in the case of any child, such jurisdiction, which includes the authority to suspend, reduce, modify, or dismiss the disposition of any juvenile adjudication, may be retained by the court until such person becomes 21 years of age, except when the person is in the custody of the Department or when jurisdiction is divested under the provisions of § 16.1-244. In any event, when such person reaches the age of 21 and a prosecution has not been commenced against him, he shall be proceeded against as an adult, even if he was a juvenile when the offense was committed.

Code 1950, § 16.1-159; 1956, c. 555; 1977, c. 559; 1978, c. 740; 1992, c. 509; 2018, c. 656.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1979–2022 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Chatman, 538 S.E.2d 304 (Va. 2000).
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Commonwealth v. Chatman, 538 S.E.2d 304 (Va. 2000). · cites it 4× “Code § 16.1-242. [11] Thus, if the statutory scheme governing the disposition of persons acquitted by reason of insanity were available to a 13-year-old juvenile, that scheme's indeterminate period of commitment for inpatient hospitalization could run afoul of the limited…”
Southerly v. Commonwealth, 536 S.E.2d 452 (Va. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 2× “Code § 16.1-242 provides that an adult who has attained the age of twenty-one years, and is charged with an offense committed while a juvenile, shall be proceeded against as an adult.”
Lucas Edward Ritchie v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2022). · cites it 32× “-3- there is a conflict between the finality provision of Rule 1:1 and the JDR court’s permissive retention of jurisdiction over juveniles until age twenty-one pursuant to Code § 16.1-242. Rule 1:1(a), subtitled “Expiration of Court’s Jurisdiction,” provides, in relevant part,…”
Etlin v. Robb, Governor of Virginia, Et Al., 458 U.S. 1112 (1982). “See Va. Code Ann. § 16.1-242 (1981 Cum. Supp.”
D.L.G. v. Commonwealth, 724 S.E.2d 208 (Va. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “In fact, if an accused elected to be tried as an adult in order to assert an insanity defense, he would be forfeiting the protection of the JDR courts’ limited jurisdiction over individuals who attain the age of twenty-one, see Code § 16.1-242, in favor of risking conviction of…”
DLG v. Com., 724 S.E.2d 208 (Va. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “[4] In fact, if an accused elected to be tried as an adult in order to assert an insanity defense, he would be forfeiting the protection of the JDR courts' limited jurisdiction over individuals who attain the age of twenty-one, see Code § 16.1-242, in favor of risking conviction…”
Commonwealth v. Thomas, 6 Va. Cir. 373 (Frederick Cir. Ct. 1986). · cites it 3× “) With exceptions not pertinent here, by virtue of § 16.1-242 when a court *374 obtains jurisdiction of a child that jurisdiction is retained "until such person becomes twenty-one years of age.”
Hawthorne v. Hawthorne, 2 Va. Cir. 483 (Henrico Cir. Ct. 1979). “*486 On the issue of retention of jurisdiction by the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, once obtained, § 16.1-242 of the Code provides: When jurisdiction has been obtained by the Court in the case of any child, such jurisdiction may be retained by the court until…”
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