A. Every person convicted of a felony committed before January 1, 1995, and sentenced to the Department for a total period of more than two years shall be committed by the court to the custody of the Director of the Department. The Director shall receive all such persons into the state corrections system within sixty days of the date on which the final sentencing order is mailed by certified letter or sent by electronic transmission to the Director by the clerk.
B. Persons convicted of felonies committed on or after January 1, 1995, and sentenced to the Department or sentenced to confinement in jail for a year or more shall be placed in the custody of the Department and received by the Director into the state corrections system within sixty days of the date on which the final sentencing order is mailed by certified letter or sent by electronic transmission to the Director by the clerk.
C. If the Governor finds that the number of prisoners in state facilities poses a threat to public safety, it shall be within the discretion of the Director to determine the priority for receiving prisoners into the state corrections system from local correctional facilities.
D. All felons sentenced to a period of incarceration and not placed in an adult state correctional facility pursuant to this section shall serve their sentences in local correctional facilities which shall not include a secure facility or detention home as defined in § 16.1-228.
E. Felons committed to the custody of the Department for a new felony offense shall be received by the Director into the state corrections system in accordance with the provisions of this section without any delay for resolution of (i) issues of alleged parole violations set for hearing before the Parole Board or (ii) any other pending parole-related administrative matter.
F. After accounting for safety, security, and operational factors, the Director shall place prisoners who are known primary caretakers of minor children in a facility as close as possible to such children.
Code 1950, §§ 19-270, 19.1-296, 53-21.1; 1960, c. 366; 1966, c. 522; 1970, cc. 67, 648; 1972, c. 145; 1973, c. 330; 1974, cc. 44, 45, 506; 1981, c. 529; 1982, c. 636; 1990, cc. 676, 768; 1993, c. 502; 1994, cc. 128, 859, 949; 1994, 2nd Sp. Sess., cc. 1, 2; 1997, c. 840; 2020, c. 526.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
12
cases (
5 in the last 5 years), 1996–2026 · leading case:
Counts v. Newhart, 951 F. Supp. 579 (E.D. Va. 1996).
Counts v. Newhart, 951 F. Supp. 579 (E.D. Va. 1996).
· cites it 16× “” Counts’ claim against defendant Ron An-gelone, Director of the VDOC, essentially states that Angelone has failed to enforce Virginia Code Section 53.1-20 which generally states that certain prisoners committed to the custody of the VDOC be transferred from local jail to the…”
Latson v. Clarke, 249 F. Supp. 3d 838 (W.D. Va. 2017).
· cites it 2× “Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-20 (B) generally provides that persons convicted of felonies shall be received into state facilities within sixty days of when a sentencing order is sent to the Director of VDOC.”
Latson v. Clarke, 346 F. Supp. 3d 831 (W.D. Va. 2018).
· cites it 2× “" Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-20 (B). There is a conflict in the evidence as to when VDOC considers an inmate to be "VDOC-responsible" or "state-responsible," although that issue is not of critical importance.”
Coley, No. 3:24-cv-00165 (E.D. Va. Jan. 14, 2026).
· cites it 6× “) “The issuance of a Custody Responsibility Date (“CRD”) designates an inmate as state responsible, denoting the 60-day compliance countdown contained in Code § 53.1-20.” (/d.) Petitioner “was fully sentenced on April 12, 2002, and a certified copy of the sentencing order was…”
Akers v. Commonwealth, 839 S.E.2d 902 (Va. 2020).
· cites it 2× “Under Code § 53.1-20, “[t]he Director shall receive all such persons [those convicted of a felony] into the state corrections system within sixty days of the date on which the final sentencing order is mailed by certified letter or sent by electronic transmission to the Director.”
Jamell D. Davis v. Commonwealth of Virginia, No. 1085222 (Va. Ct. App. Feb. 14, 2023).
· cites it 2× “1 limits when and for how long a circuit 1 But see Code § 53.1-20(B) (“Persons convicted of felonies committed on or after January 1, 1995, and sentenced to the Department or sentenced to confinement in jail for a year or more shall be placed in the custody of the Department and…”
Herrington v. Dotson, No. 3:23-cv-00748 (E.D. Va. Jan. 2, 2025).
· cites it 2× “Pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-20 (B), “[p]ersons convicted of felonies committed on or after January 1, 1995, and sentenced to the Department or sentenced to confinement in jail for a year or more shall be placed in the custody of [VDOC] and received by the Director into the…”
Frank Devon Harris v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 918 S.E.2d 293 (Va. Ct. App. 2025).
· cites it 2× “at 454 (second alteration in original) (quoting Code § 53.1-20). “Without a sentencing order, the DOC will refrain from taking a defendant into custody.”
Frank Devon Harris v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 918 S.E.2d 293 (Va. Ct. App. 2025).
· cites it 2× “at 454 (second alteration in original) (quoting Code § 53.1-20). “Without a sentencing order, the DOC will refrain from taking a defendant into custody.”
Barco v. Commonwealth, 88 Va. Cir. 121 (Norfolk Cir. Ct. 2014).
· cites it 3× “Pursuant to Va. Code § 53.1-20 and § 19.2-310, persons convicted of felonies and sentenced to the Department of Corrections shall be placed in the custody of the Department.”
Commonwealth v. Wade, 64 Va. Cir. 339 (Fairfax Cir. Ct. 2004).
· cites it 2× “In making this argument, Petitioner relies upon Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-20 (B) (Michie 2003), which reads as follows: Persons convicted of felonies committed on or after January 1, 1995, and sentenced to the Department or sentenced to confinement in jail for a year or more shall be…”
Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-20(B): 3 cases
Coley, No. 3:24-cv-00165 (E.D. Va. Jan. 14, 2026).
“) “The issuance of a Custody Responsibility Date (“CRD”) designates an inmate as state responsible, denoting the 60-day compliance countdown contained in Code § 53.1-20.” (/d.) Petitioner “was fully sentenced on April 12, 2002, and a certified copy of the sentencing order was…”
Jamell D. Davis v. Commonwealth of Virginia, No. 1085222 (Va. Ct. App. Feb. 14, 2023).
“1 limits when and for how long a circuit 1 But see Code § 53.1-20(B) (“Persons convicted of felonies committed on or after January 1, 1995, and sentenced to the Department or sentenced to confinement in jail for a year or more shall be placed in the custody of the Department and…”
Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-20(E): 1 case
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