Virginia Code
Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-20 (2026)
Same; complaint and issuance of warrant therefor
✓ laws through the 2026 session (checked Sept. 2026)
Find cases:
SyfertCases citing this section
VA-LISlaw.lis.virginia.gov
JustiaTitle on Justia
CornellLII Search
CasesGoogle Scholar
If complaint be made to any magistrate or judge that a person should be required to give a recognizance to keep the peace due to any of the reasons set forth in § 19.2-19, such magistrate or judge shall examine on oath the complainant, and any witness who may be produced, reduce the complaint to writing, and cause it to be signed by the complainant; and if probable cause is established, such magistrate or judge shall issue a warrant, reciting the complaint, and requiring the person complained of forthwith to be apprehended and brought before the district court having appropriate jurisdiction.
Code 1950, § 19.1-21; 1960, c. 366; 1975, c. 495; 1978, c. 500; 1979, c. 708.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2
cases, 1996–2005 · leading case: Sherri L. Patterson v. Commonwealth, No. 2090041 (Va. Ct. App. July 26, 2005).
Sherri L. Patterson v. Commonwealth, No. 2090041 (Va. Ct. App. July 26, 2005). “3, and required to give a “recognizance to keep the peace” for threatening bodily harm, under Code § 19.2-20. On appeal, Patterson contends (1) the trial court abused its discretion by imposing, as a condition of the suspension of the execution of her sentence on the stalking…”
David P. Markva v. Commonwealth, No. 0010954 (Va. Ct. App. Aug. 6, 1996). “MOTION TO QUASH THE INDICTMENT Appellant contends that the indictment failed to provide him with "a concise and definite written statement" describing the charged offense, Code § 19.2-20, because the indictment failed to describe the specific intent that he possessed when…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.