Virginia Code
Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-218 (2026)
Preliminary hearing required for person arrested on charge of felony; waiver
✓ current as of May 2026
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No person who is arrested on a charge of felony shall be denied a preliminary hearing upon the question of whether there is reasonable ground to believe that he committed the offense and no indictment shall be returned in a court of record against any such person prior to such hearing unless such hearing is waived in writing by the accused.
Code 1950, § 19.1-163.1; 1960, c. 389; 1975, c. 495.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 30
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1977–2023 · leading case: Wright v. Commonwealth, 667 S.E.2d 787 (Va. Ct. App. 2008).
Wright v. Commonwealth, 667 S.E.2d 787 (Va. Ct. App. 2008). “Second, she contends that the resulting denial of a preliminary hearing under Code § 19.2-218 led to a violation of her due process rights under Article I, Section 11 of the Constitution of Virginia.”
Burns v. Commonwealth, 541 S.E.2d 872 (Va. 2001). “He now claims that he was entitled to that hearing pursuant to Code § 19.2-218 because both the capital murder and first degree murder charges arose out of the same circumstances.”
Wright v. Commonwealth, 659 S.E.2d 583 (Va. Ct. App. 2008). “Stacey Lynn Wright (“Wright”), who was arrested on a warrant before her indictment in the Fairfax County Circuit Court, maintains that the circuit court erred in refusing to dismiss a direct indictment that violated the terms of Code § 19.2-218. The record shows that the…”
Armel v. Commonwealth, 505 S.E.2d 378 (Va. Ct. App. 1998). “Defendant complains on appeal that this procedure denied him a preliminary hearing on the original warrants in violation of Code § 19.2-218. Finding no error, we affirm the convictions.”
Seibert v. Commonwealth, 467 S.E.2d 838 (Va. Ct. App. 1996). “On appeal, Seibert contends that the trial court erred in allowing the Commonwealth to prosecute him on the direct indictments rather than on the charges certified to the grand jury.”
Com. v. Jackson, 661 S.E.2d 810 (Va. 2008). “1-127 or Code § 19.2-218. See Barr v. Town & Country Properties, Inc.”
Waye v. Commonwealth, 251 S.E.2d 202 (Va. 1979). “Code § 19.2-218 provides that “[n]o person who is arrested on a charge of felony shall be denied a preliminary hearing .”
Lebedun v. Commonwealth, 501 S.E.2d 427 (Va. Ct. App. 1998). “See Code § 19.2-218. Because a transcript of the preliminary hearing may be an effective tool for cross-examining and impeaching witnesses at trial, see Harley v.”
Dalton v. Commonwealth, 499 S.E.2d 22 (Va. Ct. App. 1998). “2-216; and it has made provision for preliminary hearings, see Code § 19.2-218. It has directed that an "indictment or information shall be a plain, concise, and definite written statement, (1) naming the accused, (2) describing the offense charged," (3) locating where the…”
Moore v. Commonwealth, 237 S.E.2d 187 (Va. 1977). “) (now with a slight change § 19.2-218), “the indictment of a defendant arrested on a felony warrant can be only by way of a preliminary hearing.”
Henry Magruder Williams v. Commonwealth, 565 S.E.2d 328 (Va. Ct. App. 2002). “Upon motion of the Commonwealth, the charges were nolle prossed in the general district court, but Armel was subsequently indicted for the same offenses, a procedure he claimed impermissibly “denied him a preliminary hearing on the original warrants in violation of Code §…”
James Arthur Price, Jr. v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 492 S.E.2d 447 (Va. Ct. App. 1997). “1(A)(2); Code § 19.2-218; Burfoot, 23 Va.App. at 45 , 473 S.”
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