{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/15.2-854.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/15.2-854.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/15.2-854.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/15.2-854.html"}],"law_id":58311,"edition_id":1,"section_id":58311,"structure_id":15315,"section_number":"15.2-854","catch_line":"Investigations","history":"1986, c. 495, \u00a7 15.1-783.2; 1994, c. 873; 1997, cc. 404, 587; 2020, cc. 1137, 1140; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 477, 478.","full_text":"Whenever the commission on human rights has a reasonable cause to believe that any person has engaged in, or is engaging in, any violation of a county ordinance that prohibits discrimination due to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, national origin, military status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, and, after making a good faith effort to obtain the data, information, and attendance of witnesses necessary to determine whether such violation has occurred, is unable to obtain such data, information, or attendance, it may request the county attorney to petition the judge of the general district court for its jurisdiction for a subpoena against any such person refusing to produce such data and information or refusing to appear as a witness, and the judge of such court may, upon good cause shown, cause the subpoena to be issued. Any witness subpoena issued under this section shall include a statement that any statements made will be under oath and that the respondent or other witness is entitled to be represented by an attorney. Any person failing to comply with a subpoena issued under this section shall be subject to punishment for contempt by the court issuing the subpoena. Any person so subpoenaed may apply to the judge who issued a subpoena to quash it.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":213575,"text":"Whenever the commission on human rights has a reasonable cause to believe that any person has engaged in, or is engaging in, any violation of a county ordinance that prohibits discrimination due to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, national origin, military status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, and, after making a good faith effort to obtain the data, information, and attendance of witnesses necessary to determine whether such violation has occurred, is unable to obtain such data, information, or attendance, it may request the county attorney to petition the judge of the general district court for its jurisdiction for a subpoena against any such person refusing to produce such data and information or refusing to appear as a witness, and the judge of such court may, upon good cause shown, cause the subpoena to be issued. Any witness subpoena issued under this section shall include a statement that any statements made will be under oath and that the respondent or other witness is entitled to be represented by an attorney. Any person failing to comply with a subpoena issued under this section shall be subject to punishment for contempt by the court issuing the subpoena. Any person so subpoenaed may apply to the judge who issued a subpoena to quash it.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":15315,"edition_id":1,"name":"Human Rights","identifier":"3","label":"article","depth":4,"order_by":1,"parent_id":14133,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:53:53","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:53:53","permalink":{"id":152339,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15315,"identifier":"3","token":"15.2\/I\/8\/3","url":"\/15.2\/I\/8\/3\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":14133,"edition_id":1,"name":"Urban County Executive Form of Government","identifier":"8","label":"chapter","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13138,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:46:58","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:46:58","permalink":{"id":152109,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14133,"identifier":"8","token":"15.2\/I\/8","url":"\/15.2\/I\/8\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13138,"edition_id":1,"name":"General Provisions; Charters; Other Forms and Organization of Counties","identifier":"I","label":"subtitle","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12720,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:20","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:20","permalink":{"id":151281,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13138,"identifier":"I","token":"15.2\/I","url":"\/15.2\/I\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12720,"edition_id":1,"name":"Counties, Cities and Towns","identifier":"15.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","permalink":{"id":151279,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12720,"identifier":"15.2","token":"15.2","url":"\/15.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":79958,"structure_id":15315,"section_number":"15.2-853","catch_line":"Commission on human rights; human rights ordinance","url":"\/15.2-853\/","token":"15.2\/I\/8\/3\/15.2-853","metadata":false},{"id":58311,"structure_id":15315,"section_number":"15.2-854","catch_line":"Investigations","url":"\/15.2-854\/","token":"15.2\/I\/8\/3\/15.2-854","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":79958,"structure_id":15315,"section_number":"15.2-853","catch_line":"Commission on human rights; human rights ordinance","url":"\/15.2-853\/","token":"15.2\/I\/8\/3\/15.2-853","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/15.2-854\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1986. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 495 of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1986 \u201cActs\u201d aren\u2019t available online. It has been modified 3 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1994, chapter 873<\/a>; in 1997, chapters 404<\/a> and 587<\/a>; in 2020, chapters 1137<\/a> and 1140<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":58822,"section_number":"2.2-524","catch_line":"Powers of local commissions","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-524\/"}],"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":152345,"object_type":"law","relational_id":58311,"identifier":"15.2-854","token":"15.2\/I\/8\/3\/15.2-854","url":"\/15.2-854\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/15.2-854\/","token":"15.2\/I\/8\/3\/15.2-854","dublin_core":{"Title":"Investigations","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 15.2-854","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Whenever the commission on human rights has a reasonable cause to believe that any person has engaged in, or is engaging in, any violation of a county<\/span> ordinance<\/span> that prohibits discrimination due to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, national origin, military status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, and, after making a good faith effort to obtain the data, information, and attendance of witnesses necessary to determine whether such violation has occurred, is unable to obtain such data, information, or attendance, it may request the county<\/span> attorney to petition<\/span> the judge<\/span> of the general district court<\/span> for its jurisdiction<\/span> for a subpoena<\/span> against any such person refusing to produce such data and information or refusing to appear as a witness<\/span>, and the judge<\/span> of such court<\/span> may, upon good cause shown, cause the subpoena<\/span> to be issued. Any witness<\/span> subpoena<\/span> issued under this section shall include a statement that any statements made will be under oath<\/span> and that the respondent or other witness<\/span> is entitled to be represented by an attorney. Any person failing to comply with a subpoena<\/span> issued under this section shall be subject to punishment for contempt<\/span> by the court<\/span> issuing the subpoena<\/span>. Any person so subpoenaed may apply to the judge<\/span> who issued a subpoena<\/span> to quash<\/span> it.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nINVESTIGATIONS (\u00a7 15.2-854)\n\nWhenever the commission on human rights has a reasonable cause to believe that\nany person has engaged in, or is engaging in, any violation of a county\nordinance that prohibits discrimination due to race, color, religion, sex,\npregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, national origin, military\nstatus, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability,\nand, after making a good faith effort to obtain the data, information, and\nattendance of witnesses necessary to determine whether such violation has\noccurred, is unable to obtain such data, information, or attendance, it may\nrequest the county attorney to petition the judge of the general district court\nfor its jurisdiction for a subpoena against any such person refusing to produce\nsuch data and information or refusing to appear as a witness, and the judge of\nsuch court may, upon good cause shown, cause the subpoena to be issued. Any\nwitness subpoena issued under this section shall include a statement that any\nstatements made will be under oath and that the respondent or other witness is\nentitled to be represented by an attorney. Any person failing to comply with a\nsubpoena issued under this section shall be subject to punishment for contempt\nby the court issuing the subpoena. Any person so subpoenaed may apply to the\njudge who issued a subpoena to quash it.\n\nHISTORY: 1986, c. 495, \u00a7 15.1-783.2; 1994, c. 873; 1997, cc. 404, 587; 2020,\ncc. 1137, 1140; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 477, 478.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}