A. Process for the arrest of a person charged with a criminal offense may be issued by the judge, or clerk of any circuit court, any general district court, any juvenile and domestic relations district court, or any magistrate as provided for in Chapter 3 (§ 19.2-26 et seq.). However, no magistrate may issue an arrest warrant for a felony offense upon the basis of a complaint by a person other than a law-enforcement officer or an animal control officer without prior authorization by the attorney for the Commonwealth or by a law-enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the alleged offense.
B. No law-enforcement officer shall seek issuance of process by any judicial officer, for the arrest of a person for an offense of aggravated murder as defined in § 18.2-31, without prior authorization by the attorney for the Commonwealth. Failure to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall not be (i) a basis upon which a warrant may be quashed or deemed invalid, (ii) deemed error upon which a conviction or sentence may be reversed or vacated, or (iii) a basis upon which a court may prevent or delay execution of sentence.
Code 1950, § 19.1-90; 1960, c. 366; 1975, c. 495; 1999, c. 266; 2002, c. 310; 2009, cc. 291, 344; 2010, c. 240; 2011, cc. 205, 223; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 344, 345.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
8
cases (
4 in the last 5 years), 1977–2026 · leading case:
Davis v. Commonwealth, 440 S.E.2d 426 (Va. Ct. App. 1994).
Davis v. Commonwealth, 440 S.E.2d 426 (Va. Ct. App. 1994).
· cites it 4× “Code § 19.2-71. Upon satisfactory evidence that probable cause exists, such officer shall issue a warrant.”
Evans v. Sturgill, 430 F. Supp. 1209 (W.D. Va. 1977).
“Code § 19.2-71 [1975 Repl. Vol.]), based upon sworn statements of a complainant and other witnesses.”
Robinson v. Goff, 517 F. Supp. 350 (W.D. Va. 1981).
“2-45 provides that “a magistrate shall have the power to issue the process of arrest in accordance with the provisions of § 19.2-71 through § 19.2-82 of the Code of Virginia.”
Commonwealth v. Dipietro, 79 Va. Cir. 55 (Fairfax Cir. Ct. 2009).
· cites it 3× “1-129, which reads in part as follows: “Every offense of which a court not of record is given jurisdiction under this title may be tried upon a warrant; or the judge of such court may, in his discretion, make an examination into the offense and proceed according to the…”
Richardson v. Smith (E.D. Va. 2022).
· cites it 2× “, Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-71 (West 2022); id. § 19.”
Barksdale v. Cnty. of Grayson (W.D. Va. 2025).
“Virginia magistrates are vested with “[t]he same power to issue warrants and subpoenas as is conferred upon district courts and as limited by the provisions of §§ 19.2-71 through 19.2-82.” Va. Code § 19.”
Leon Stusalitus v. Angelique Ortiz (4th Cir. 2025).
“While the department conceded that Ortiz should have elevated the charges to its investigations section, the first prima facie element to meet a malicious prosecution claim is whether the person was arrested without probable cause—not whether the arrest warrant itself was…”
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