Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 17.1-513 (2026)

Jurisdiction of circuit courts

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section VA-LISlaw.lis.virginia.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

The circuit courts shall have jurisdiction of proceedings by quo warranto or information in the nature of quo warranto and to issue writs of mandamus, prohibition and certiorari to all inferior tribunals created or existing under the laws of the Commonwealth, and to issue writs of mandamus in all matters of proceedings arising from or pertaining to the action of the boards of supervisors or other governing bodies of the several counties for which such courts are respectively held or in other cases in which it may be necessary to prevent the failure of justice and in which mandamus may issue according to the principles of common law. They shall have appellate jurisdiction in all cases, civil and criminal, in which an appeal may, as provided by law, be taken from the judgment or proceedings of any inferior tribunal.

They shall have original and general jurisdiction of all civil cases, except cases upon claims to recover personal property or money not of greater value than $100, exclusive of interest, and except such cases as are assigned to some other tribunal; also in all cases for the recovery of fees in excess of $100; penalties or cases involving the right to levy and collect toll or taxes or the validity of an ordinance or bylaw of any corporation; and also, of all cases, civil or criminal, in which an appeal may be had to the Court of Appeals.

They shall have jurisdiction to hear motions filed for the purpose of modifying, dissolving, or extending a protective order pursuant to § 16.1-279.1 or 19.2-152.10 if the circuit court issued such order, unless the circuit court remanded the matter to the jurisdiction of the juvenile and domestic relations district court in accordance with § 16.1-297. They shall also have original jurisdiction of all indictments for felonies and of presentments, informations and indictments for misdemeanors. They shall also have jurisdiction for bail hearings pursuant to §§ 19.2-327.2:1 and 19.2-327.10:1.

Upon certification by the district court of any felony charge and ancillary misdemeanor charge or traffic infraction or when an appeal of a conviction of an offense in district court is noted, jurisdiction as to such charges shall vest in the circuit court, unless such case is reopened pursuant to § 16.1-133.1; a final judgment, order, or decree is modified, vacated, or suspended pursuant to Supreme Court of Virginia Rule 1:1; or the appeal has been withdrawn in the district court within 10 days pursuant to § 16.1-133.

They shall have appellate jurisdiction of all cases, civil and criminal, in which an appeal, writ of error or supersedeas may, as provided by law, be taken to or allowed by such courts, or the judges thereof, from or to the judgment or proceedings of any inferior tribunal. They shall also have jurisdiction of all other matters, civil and criminal, made cognizable therein by law and when a motion to recover money is allowed in such tribunals, they may hear and determine the same, although it is to recover less than $100.

While a matter is pending in a circuit court, upon motion of the plaintiff seeking to decrease the amount of the claim to within the exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction of the general district court as described in subdivision 1 of § 16.1-77, the circuit court shall order transfer of the matter to the general district court that has jurisdiction over the amended amount of the claim without requiring that the case first be dismissed or that the plaintiff suffer a nonsuit, and the tolling of the applicable statutes of limitations governing the pending matter shall be unaffected by the transfer. Except for good cause shown, no such order of transfer shall issue unless the motion to amend and transfer is made at least 10 days before trial. The plaintiff shall pay filing and other fees as otherwise provided by law to the clerk of the court to which the case is transferred, and such clerk shall process the claim as if it were a new civil action. The plaintiff shall prepare and present the order of transfer to the transferring court for entry, after which time the case shall be removed from the pending docket of the transferring court and the order of transfer placed among its records. The plaintiff shall provide a certified copy of the transfer order to the receiving court.

Code 1919, § 5890, § 17-123; 1928, p. 1164; 1973, c. 544; 1977, c. 624; 1998, c. 872; 2005, c. 681; 2012, cc. 152, 261; 2015, c. 66; 2020, c. 903; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 187, 489; 2026, c. 363.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 111 cases (37 in the last 5 years), 2000–2026 · leading case: Porter v. Com., 661 S.E.2d 415 (Va. 2008).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Porter v. Com., 661 S.E.2d 415 (Va. 2008). · cites it 52× “The Commonwealth responds by noting that Code § 17.1-513 grants subject matter jurisdiction in felony cases to all circuit courts and argues the Norfolk Circuit Court was never divested of that authority.”

George M. Epps, Sheriff of City of Petersburg, Virginia v. Commonwealth, 626 S.E.2d 912 (Va. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 14× “VALIDITY OF ORDERS Appellant contends Judge Baskervill had no authority to enter the April 16, 2002 order requiring posting of a deputy at the front desk and the July 1, 2003 order directing that the courthouse be closed when security was not provided.”

Wright v. Commonwealth, 667 S.E.2d 787 (Va. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 16× “*795 Code § 17.1-513 states, in pertinent part, that circuit courts "have appellate jurisdiction in all cases, civil and criminal, in which an appeal may, as provided by law, be taken from the judgment or proceedings of any inferior tribunal.”

Edwards v. Commonwealth, 589 S.E.2d 444 (Va. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 4× “See Code § 17.1-513 (giving circuit courts jurisdiction over criminal cases).”

Neighbors v. Com., 650 S.E.2d 514 (Va. 2007). · cites it 12× “1-106 "on its face does not remotely suggest that coram nobis is among the categories of cases appealable from courts not of record to circuit courts," the circuit court was therefore without jurisdiction to consider the appeal.”

Epps v. Commonwealth, 616 S.E.2d 67 (Va. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 12× “VALIDITY OF ORDERS Appellant contends Judge Baskervill had no authority to enter the April 16, 2002 order requiring posting of a deputy at the front desk and the July 1, 2003 order directing that the courthouse be closed when security was not provided.”

Bd. of Supervisors v. Bd. OF ZONING, 626 S.E.2d 374 (Va. 2006). · cites it 4× “The General Assembly granted authority to circuit courts specifically to review any final decision of a board of zoning appeals in Code § 15.”

Mohamed v. Commonwealth, 691 S.E.2d 513 (Va. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 6× “Code § 17.1-513 accords to the circuit courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia “original jurisdiction of all indictments for felonies and of presentments, informations, and indictments for misdemeanors.”

Hunter v. Commonwealth, 695 S.E.2d 567 (Va. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 2× “2d at 515 (citing Code § 17.1-513). The question presented in this appeal is not one of whether the trial court had subject matter jurisdiction to revoke appellant’s probation, it clearly did, but whether the trial court had authority jurisdiction within the time limitation…”

Moore v. Commonwealth, 527 S.E.2d 406 (Va. 2000). · cites it 4× “There is no question that when the statutory requirements related to the juvenile court proceedings are followed, a circuit court's subject matter jurisdiction over the class of offenses committed by a juvenile that are at issue here is invoked.”

Donald Keith Epps v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 785 S.E.2d 792 (Va. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 2× “Code § 17.1-513 provides that “[t]he circuit courts shall .”

Commonwealth Ex Rel. Beales v. Joco Found., 558 S.E.2d 280 (Va. 2002). · cites it 6× “Code § 17.1-513 grants the circuit court jurisdiction over chancery matters.”

Show all 111 citing cases →

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.