It shall be unlawful for any person (i) to knowingly give a false report as to the commission of any crime to any law-enforcement official with intent to mislead; (ii) to knowingly, with the intent to mislead a law-enforcement agency, cause another to give a false report to any law-enforcement official by publicly simulating a violation of Chapter 4 (§ 18.2-30 et seq.) or Chapter 5 (§ 18.2-77 et seq.); or (iii) without just cause and with intent to interfere with the operations of any law-enforcement official, to call or summon any law-enforcement official by telephone or other means, including engagement or activation of an automatic emergency alarm. Violation of the provisions of this section shall be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. However, if a person intentionally gives a false report as to the commission of any crime to any law-enforcement official, causes another to give a false report to any law-enforcement official, or calls or summons any law-enforcement official against another person because of his race, religious conviction, gender, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, color, or national origin, the person is guilty of a Class 6 felony.
Code 1950, § 18.1-401; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1996, cc. 753, 815; 2019, cc. 471, 498; 2020, Sp. Sess. I, c. 22.
Notes of Decisions
Justina Alice Dunne v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 782 S.E.2d 170 (Va. Ct. App. 2016).
· cites it 22× “A Rockbridge County jury convicted Justina Alice Dunne of knowingly giving a false report of a crime to a law enforcement official with the intent to mislead, a misdemeanor in violation of Code § 18.2-461. Dunne asserts that the evidence was insufficient because (1) her…”
Grace Nadine McGuire v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 813 S.E.2d 552 (Va. Ct. App. 2018).
· cites it 19× “Following a jury trial, the Circuit Court of Loudoun County convicted Grace Nadine McGuire of giving a false report to a law enforcement official in violation of Code § 18.2-461. On appeal, McGuire contends the circuit court erred by determining venue was appropriate in Loudoun…”
Henderson v. Commonwealth, 722 S.E.2d 275 (Va. Ct. App. 2012).
· cites it 8× “Code § 18.2-461. This increases their reliability.”
Jackson v. Commonwealth, 594 S.E.2d 595 (Va. 2004).
· cites it 2× “See Code § 18.2-461. In other words, the informant was not placing his or her credibility at risk and could “lie with impunity.”
Henderson v. Commonwealth, 710 S.E.2d 482 (Va. Ct. App. 2011).
· cites it 8× “Code § 18.2-461. This increases their reliability.”
Harris v. Com., 668 S.E.2d 141 (Va. 2008).
· cites it 2× “See Code § 18.2-461. In other words, the informant was not placing his or her credibility at risk and could "lie with impunity.”
Beckner v. Commonwealth, 425 S.E.2d 530 (Va. Ct. App. 1993).
· cites it 2× “See Code § 18.2-461. The fact that the police officer chose not to trace the informant does not make the informant less reliable than he would have been had the officer taken down the license number.”
Young v. City of Norfolk, 62 Va. Cir. 307 (Norfolk Cir. Ct. 2003).
· cites it 3× “2-460, obstruction of justice, Va. Code § 18.2-461, making a false statement to a law enforcement officer, and Va.”
State v. Connley, 245 S.E.2d 663 (N.C. 1978).
“The reasonable probability of the truthfulness of Fisher’s report is obvious: (1) Common experience would reject the suggestion that a highway patrolman on duty would falsely report the loss of his service revolver and his forcible abduction.”
Joanna Denise Benjamin Gibson v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2019).
· cites it 6× “2-1513, and giving a false report to a law enforcement official, in violation of Code § 18.2-461. On appeal, she argues that the evidence was insufficient to prove: (1) the charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, because there was no evidence presented of the…”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-461(i) — 2 cases
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