Va. Code » Title 19.2. Criminal Procedure » Chapter 10. Disability of Judge or Attorney for Commonwealth; Court- Appointed Counsel; Interpreters; Transcripts » Article 4. Public Defenders
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-163.3 (2026)

Duties of public defenders

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Public defenders shall carry out the following duties in accordance with the guidance, policies, and authorizations of the Indigent Defense Commission:

(a) To assist the executive director of the Commission in securing office space, to employ a staff, to fix salaries and to do such other things necessary to carry out the duties imposed upon them with the approval of the Commission.

(b) To represent or supervise assistants in representing within their respective jurisdictions as set out in § 19.2-163.04 indigent persons charged with a crime or offense when such persons are entitled to be represented by law by court-appointed counsel in a court of record or a court not of record.

(c) To represent or supervise assistants in representing indigent persons who are entitled to be represented by court-appointed counsel in an appeal of their conviction to the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court of Virginia.

(d) To submit such reports as required by the Commission.

Code 1950, § 19.1-32.4; 1972, c. 800; 1975, c. 495; 1978, c. 698; 1979, c. 194; 1990, c. 734; 1992, c. 80; 2007, c. 680.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case, 1990–1990 · leading case: Bolden v. Commonwealth, 397 S.E.2d 534 (Va. Ct. App. 1990).
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Bolden v. Commonwealth, 397 S.E.2d 534 (Va. Ct. App. 1990). · cites it 4× “Following Bolden's conviction on March 31, 1988, the trial judge appointed the Public Defender to represent Bolden on appeal.”
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