Va. Code » Title 18.2. Crimes and Offenses Generally » Chapter 10. Crimes Against the Administration of Justice » Article 5. Contempt of Court
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-459 (2026)

Appeal from sentence of such judge

✓ current as of May 2026
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Any person sentenced to pay a fine, or to confinement, under § 18.2-458, may appeal therefrom to the circuit court of the county or city in which the sentence was pronounced, upon entering into recognizance before the sentencing judge, with surety and in penalty deemed sufficient, to appear before such circuit court to answer for the offense. If such appeal be taken, a certificate of the conviction and the particular circumstances of the offense, together with the recognizance, shall forthwith be transmitted by the sentencing judge to the clerk of such circuit court, who shall immediately deliver the same to the judge thereof. Such judge, sitting without a jury, shall hear the case upon the certificate and any legal testimony adduced on either side, and make such order therein as may seem to him proper.

Code 1950, § 18.1-294; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 2013, c. 615.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 20 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1992–2024 · leading case: George M. Epps, Sheriff of City of Petersburg, Virginia v. Commonwealth, 626 S.E.2d 912 (Va. Ct. App. 2006).
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George M. Epps, Sheriff of City of Petersburg, Virginia v. Commonwealth, 626 S.E.2d 912 (Va. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 29× “This statutory scheme accords proper deference to the district court judge and 3 Code § 18.2-459 provides Any person sentenced to pay a fine, or to confinement, under § 18.”
Gilman v. Commonwealth, 628 S.E.2d 54 (Va. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 80× “She argues that on appeal of her contempt conviction in juvenile and domestic relations district court (JDR court), the circuit court erred in admitting into evidence a Certificate of Conviction (certificate) prepared by the JDR judge pursuant to Code § 18.2-459. The certificate…”
Epps v. Commonwealth, 616 S.E.2d 67 (Va. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 32× “Code § 18.2-459 [4] resolves this dilemma by requiring that the district court judge submit a "certificate of the conviction and the particular circumstances of the offense.”
Gilman v. Com., 657 S.E.2d 474 (Va. 2008). · cites it 16× “The issue we determine is whether the contemnor had a Sixth Amendment right of confrontation that was violated When the circuit court admitted in evidence, under Code § 18.2-459, the certificate of the district court judge reciting the factual circumstances underlying the…”
Rozario v. Commonwealth, 647 S.E.2d 502 (Va. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 28× “The general district court, pursuant to Code § 18.2-459, [2] submitted to the circuit court a "certificate of the conviction and the particular circumstances of the offense" with the record from the general district court.”
Priscilla Sherrie Parham v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 729 S.E.2d 734 (Va. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 12× “Second, she contends the circuit court violated her due process rights by considering a certificate filed by the juvenile and domestic relations district court pursuant to Code § 18.2-459. We disagree with both assertions and affirm.”
Baugh v. Commonwealth, 417 S.E.2d 891 (Va. Ct. App. 1992). · cites it 12× “Defendant appealed the conviction to the circuit court and, in accordance with the provisions of Code § 18.2-459, a "certificate" prepared by the district court judge, which detailed the circumstances of the offense, was transmitted to the circuit court.”
Alexy J. Abdo, a/k/a Alexi J. Abdo v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 769 S.E.2d 677 (Va. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 2× “The general district court prepared a certificate of conviction based on Code § 18.2-459 memorializing the court’s rationale for finding appellant in contempt.”
Andrew Becker, s/k/a Andrew Ira Becker v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 769 S.E.2d 683 (Va. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 2× “2d 474 (2008), applies to indirect contempt and do not decide if Code § 18.2-459 governing summary contempt applies in cases of indirect contempt.”
Scialdone v. Commonwealth, 660 S.E.2d 317 (Va. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 4× “2 (in appeal of a district court summary criminal contempt finding on the district judge's Code § 18.2-459 certificate, (1) holding the applicable procedural safeguards derive from the Due Process Clauses because such proceedings are not "`criminal prosecutions'" within the…”
Ashley Unger, s/k/a Ashley Michelle Unger v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 50× “The prosecutor argued that the summary was admissible because it -2- constituted “the certificate” under Code § 18.2-459 that recounted the evidence from the district court.”
Tina Gilman, s/k/a Tina M. Gilman v. Commonwealth (Va. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 37× “She argues that on appeal of her contempt conviction in juvenile and domestic relations district court (JDR court), the circuit court erred in admitting into evidence a Certificate of Conviction (certificate) prepared by the JDR judge pursuant to Code § 18.2-459. The certificate…”
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