Va. Code » Title 18.2. Crimes and Offenses Generally » Chapter 1. In General » Article 3. Classification of Criminal Offenses and Punishment Therefor
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-8 (2026)

Felonies, misdemeanors and traffic infractions defined

✓ current as of May 2026
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Offenses are either felonies or misdemeanors. Such offenses as are punishable with confinement in a state correctional facility are felonies; all other offenses are misdemeanors. Traffic infractions are violations of public order as defined in § 46.2-100 and not deemed to be criminal in nature.

Code 1950, § 18.1-6; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1977, c. 585; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 344, 345.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 21 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1987–2026 · leading case: Lytle v. Griffith, 240 F.3d 404 (4th Cir. 2001).
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Lytle v. Griffith, 240 F.3d 404 (4th Cir. 2001). · cites it 4× “" Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-8 (Michie’s 1996 & Supp.”
Iglesias v. Commonwealth, 372 S.E.2d 170 (Va. Ct. App. 1988). · cites it 4× “Code §§ 18.2-8; 18.2-11; Code § 46.1-1(40).”
Foster v. Commonwealth, 606 S.E.2d 518 (Va. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 4× “Code § 18.2-8. Offenses punishable by death or imprisonment are felonies; those punishable by jail or fine are misdemeanors.”
Sattler v. Commonwealth, 457 S.E.2d 398 (Va. Ct. App. 1995). · cites it 4× “Code § 18.2-8. However, Code § 46.2-937 provides that "[f]or purposes of arrest, traffic infractions shall be treated as misdemeanors" and "the authority and duties of arresting officers shall be the same for traffic infractions as for misdemeanors.”
Preston v. Com., 704 S.E.2d 127 (Va. 2011). · cites it 2× “See Code §§ 18.2-8 and -95. In Waller v. Commonwealth, 278 Va.”
Turner v. Commonwealth, 568 S.E.2d 468 (Va. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 2× “or by death,” the “standard definition” of a felony consistent with Code §§ 18.2-8, -9 and -10. In response, defendant argued “Housebreaking” under the UCMJ was not a felony contemplated by Code § 18.”
Falwell v. City of Lynchburg, Virginia, 198 F. Supp. 2d 765 (W.D. Va. 2002). · cites it 2× “Those types of decisions are left to the Virginia General Assembly, and not to a federal court.”
Wright v. Commonwealth, 357 S.E.2d 547 (Va. Ct. App. 1987). · cites it 2× “See Code § 18.2-8. It should also be noted that the violations are not “traffic infractions,” see Code § 46.”
Jones v. State, 23 A.3d 880 (Md. 2011). “07 (a)(23) (West 2011); Va.Code Ann. § 18.2-8 (2009); W. *459 Va.”
United States v. Brooks, 64 M.J. 587 (A.C.C.A. 2006). “7 Under Va.Code Ann. § 18.2-8 (“Felonies, misdemeanors and traffic infractions defined”), “[tjraffic infractions are violations of public order as defined in § 46.”
Dianna Carol Spencer v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 4× “See Code §§ 18.2-8, -91. A person who “conspire[s], confederate[s,] or combine[s] with another .”
Commonwealth v. Graham, 54 Va. Cir. 223 (Suffolk Cir. Ct. 2000). · cites it 6× “” Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-8 (Michie 1996). This designation, however, does not weaken the statutoiy directive that law enforcement officers “shall enforce” the provisions of Title 46.”
Show all 21 citing cases →
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-8(a) — 1 case
Bhagavan Kevin Antle v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2025).
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