Va. Code » Title 53.1. Prisons and Other Methods of Correction » Chapter 3. Local Correctional Facilities » Article 1. Establishment and Regulation of Facilities
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-71 (2026)

Courts to order jails erected and repaired

✓ laws through the 2026 session (checked Sept. 2026)
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When it shall appear to the circuit court of any county or city that there is no jail therein or that the jail of such county or city is insecure, out of repair or otherwise inadequate, it shall be the duty of such court to award a rule in the name of the Commonwealth against the governing body of the county or city to show cause why a writ of mandamus should not issue commanding the governing body to erect a jail for the county or city, or to cause the existing jail of such county or city to be made secure, put in good repair, or rendered otherwise adequate, as the case may be.

Code 1950, § 53-129; 1982, c. 636.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1993–2023 · leading case: Brown v. Mitchell, 308 F. Supp. 2d 682 (E.D. Va. 2004).
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Brown v. Mitchell, 308 F. Supp. 2d 682 (E.D. Va. 2004). · cites it 9× “Va.Code Ann. § 53.1-71. A Virginia sheriff, by contrast, has no duty or ability to build, expand, or otherwise improve the structural facilities of a jail.”
Brown v. Mitchell, 327 F. Supp. 2d 615 (E.D. Va. 2004). · cites it 10× “Furthermore, she is presumed to know that, under Va.Code Ann. § 53.1-71, when it appears to the local circuit court of a city that a local jail is inadequate to meet the jurisdiction’s needs, it may order that city to make the local jail adequate.”
Westmoreland v. Brown, 883 F. Supp. 67 (E.D. Va. 1995). · cites it 3× “Westmoreland contends that both the City and Winston may be held liable for the assault because both bear responsibility for the City Jail.”
May v. Newhart, 822 F. Supp. 1233 (E.D. Va. 1993). · cites it 7× “” A city may be reimbursed by the state, within specified limits up to a maximum of one-half of the cost of construction or renovation of its local jail, if approved by the State Board of Corrections.”
Tilson v. Humphrey, No. 5:19-cv-00033, 2019 WL 6902677 (W.D. Va. Dec. 18, 2019). · cites it 3× “Va. Code § 53.1-71. Defendants argue that “there is no sound reason why a jail authority—created to curb costs ordinarily borne in full by individual localities—should not be afforded the same immunity afforded to local governments performing the exact same 12 function.”
Green v. Lilly, No. 7:23-cv-00151 (W.D. Va. Oct. 10, 2023). · cites it 3× “Va. Code § 53.1-71. The courts in Haleem and Tilson gave credence to the argument that “there is no sound reason why a jail authority—created to curb costs ordinarily borne in full by individual localities—should not be afforded the same immunity afforded to local governments…”
Davis v. Lilly, No. 7:23-cv-00152 (W.D. Va. Oct. 10, 2023). · cites it 3× “Va. Code § 53.1-71. The courts in Haleem and Tilson gave credence to the argument that “there is no sound reason why a jail authority—created to curb costs ordinarily borne in full by individual localities—should not be afforded the same immunity afforded to local governments…”
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