Va. Code » Title 19.2. Criminal Procedure » Chapter 9. Bail and Recognizances » Article 3. Satisfaction and Discharge
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-151 (2026)

Satisfaction and discharge of assault and similar charges

✓ current as of May 2026
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When a person is in jail or under a recognizance to answer a charge of assault and battery or other misdemeanor, or has been indicted for an assault and battery or other misdemeanor for which there is a remedy by civil action, unless the offense was committed (i) by or upon any law-enforcement officer, (ii) riotously in violation of §§ 18.2-404 to 18.2-407, (iii) against a family or household member in violation of § 18.2-57.2, or (iv) with intent to commit a felony, if the person injured appears before the court which made the commitment or took the recognizance, or before the court in which the indictment is pending, and acknowledges in writing that he has received satisfaction for the injury, the court may, in its discretion, by an order, supersede the commitment, discharge the recognizance, or dismiss the prosecution, upon payment by the defendant of costs accrued to the Commonwealth or any of its officers.

Code 1950, § 19.1-18; 1960, c. 366; 1968, c. 639; 1975, c. 495; 1997, c. 532; 1999, c. 963.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 17 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1988–2025 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Jackson, 499 S.E.2d 276 (Va. 1998).
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Commonwealth v. Jackson, 499 S.E.2d 276 (Va. 1998). · cites it 9× “” 2 Code § 19.2-151 permits the trial court to dismiss pending criminal charges for assault and battery and other misdemeanors for which there is a civil remedy where the injured party acknowledges satisfaction of the civil wrong.”
Daniel v. Com., 604 S.E.2d 444 (Va. 2004). · cites it 8× “2(A)(2) in an amendment enacted after Gregg permitting an expungement of a charge resolved by accord and satisfaction pursuant to Code § 19.2-151 called into question the continued viability of Gregg .”
Edgar Edmundo Moreno v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 775 S.E.2d 422 (Va. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 14× “The general district court then dismissed the case pursuant to the tendered accord and satisfaction, relying on Code § 19.2-151. In November of 2012, Ramirez reached out to Deputy McCormack and asked about the status of the case.”
Brown v. Sparks, 554 S.E.2d 449 (Va. 2001). · cites it 8× “According to Sparks, dismissal of the criminal charges against him in the general district court pursuant to Code § 19.2-151 and the notations on the warrant, “Plea of satisf.”
Donohoe Constr. Co. v. Mount Vernon Assocs., 369 S.E.2d 857 (Va. 1988). · cites it 2× “We said, however, that this settlement was within the spirit of the general legislative policy evinced by the satisfac *541 tion and discharge statutes then in effect (present Code §§ 19.2-151 and -152). Those statutes authorized private adjustments between parties immediately…”
Andy DeWayne Cumbo v. Dickenson Cnty. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 742 S.E.2d 885 (Va. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 2× “2d 276, 279 (1998) (equating a dismissal upon accord and satisfaction under Code § 19.2-151 with a nolle prosequi in that both "dismissals] take place without a determination of guilt”).”
Brown v. Com., 677 S.E.2d 220 (Va. 2009). · cites it 3× “We noted that a dismissal based upon an accord and satisfaction under Code § 19.2-151 "takes place without a determination of guilt just as in the case of a nolle prosequi or other procedural dismissal [and without] imposition of penalty by judicial authority.”
Necaise v. Com., 708 S.E.2d 864 (Va. 2011). “A nolle prosequi is taken or the charge is otherwise dismissed, including dismissal by accord and satisfaction pursuant to § 19.2-151, he may file a petition setting forth the relevant facts and requesting expungement of the police records and the court records relating to the…”
Com. v. Dotson, 661 S.E.2d 473 (Va. 2008). “2(A) lists the pertinent occasions when an expungement may be sought; it states, in relevant part: If a person is charged with the commission of a crime and (1)[i]s acquitted, or (2)[a] nolle prosequi is taken or the charge is otherwise dismissed, including dismissal by accord…”
Daniel James Stark v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2022). · cites it 13× “Because Stark argues the charge should have been a misdemeanor, he also contends the circuit court erred in failing to consider dismissing a misdemeanor charge under Code § 19.2-151 based on a civil settlement agreement stemming from the same events.”
Kephart v. Clarke (W.D. Va. 2022). · cites it 5× “Virginia has enacted a statute allowing the victim of a misdemeanor to settle with the defendant for his injuries, and upon filing an accord and satisfaction with the criminal court, to have the criminal charges dropped.”
Dressner v. Commonwealth (Va. 2013). · cites it 2× “, in relevant part, that a person charged with the commission of a crime "may file a petition setting forth the relevant facts and requesting expungement of the police records and the court records relating to the charge" if the person was "acquitted, or [a] nolle prosequi is…”
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