{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/17.1-512.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/17.1-512.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/17.1-512.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/17.1-512.html"}],"law_id":63299,"edition_id":1,"section_id":63299,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-512","catch_line":"Election of successor judge before date of vacancy","history":"1973, c. 544, \u00a7 17-122.1; 1993, c. 368; 1998, c. 872; 2004, c. 452; 2018, c. 578.","full_text":"Whenever a vacancy occurs or exists in the office of a judge of a circuit while the General Assembly is in session, or whenever the term of office of a judge of a circuit court will expire or the office will be vacated at a date certain between the adjournment of the General Assembly and the commencement of the next session of the General Assembly, a successor judge may be elected at any time during a session preceding the date of such vacancy, by the vote of a majority of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly, for a term of eight years and upon qualification, the successor judge shall enter at once upon the discharge of the duties of his office. However, such successor judge shall not enter upon the discharge of his duties prior to the commencement of his term of office. No person shall be elected or reelected to a subsequent term under this section until he has submitted to a criminal history record search and submitted to a search of the central registry maintained pursuant to \u00a7 63.2-1515 for any founded complaint of child abuse or neglect and reports of such searches have been received by the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice. No person with a criminal conviction for a felony shall be appointed as a judge. If the person has not met the requirement of filing in the preceding calendar year a disclosure form prescribed in \u00a7 2.2-3117 or 30-111, he shall also provide a written statement of economic interests on the disclosure form prescribed in \u00a7 2.2-3117 to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":230662,"text":"Whenever a vacancy occurs or exists in the office of a judge of a circuit while the General Assembly is in session, or whenever the term of office of a judge of a circuit court will expire or the office will be vacated at a date certain between the adjournment of the General Assembly and the commencement of the next session of the General Assembly, a successor judge may be elected at any time during a session preceding the date of such vacancy, by the vote of a majority of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly, for a term of eight years and upon qualification, the successor judge shall enter at once upon the discharge of the duties of his office. However, such successor judge shall not enter upon the discharge of his duties prior to the commencement of his term of office. No person shall be elected or reelected to a subsequent term under this section until he has submitted to a criminal history record search and submitted to a search of the central registry maintained pursuant to \u00a7 63.2-1515 for any founded complaint of child abuse or neglect and reports of such searches have been received by the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice. No person with a criminal conviction for a felony shall be appointed as a judge. If the person has not met the requirement of filing in the preceding calendar year a disclosure form prescribed in \u00a7 2.2-3117 or 30-111, he shall also provide a written statement of economic interests on the disclosure form prescribed in \u00a7 2.2-3117 to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":13258,"edition_id":1,"name":"Establishment; Jurisdiction; Etc","identifier":"1","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13257,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:31","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:31","permalink":{"id":163697,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13258,"identifier":"1","token":"17.1\/5\/1","url":"\/17.1\/5\/1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13257,"edition_id":1,"name":"Circuit Courts","identifier":"5","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12766,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:31","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:31","permalink":{"id":163695,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13257,"identifier":"5","token":"17.1\/5","url":"\/17.1\/5\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12766,"edition_id":1,"name":"Courts of Record","identifier":"17.1","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:52","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:52","permalink":{"id":162799,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12766,"identifier":"17.1","token":"17.1","url":"\/17.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":85737,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-500","catch_line":"Establishment of circuit courts","url":"\/17.1-500\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-500","metadata":false},{"id":67003,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-501","catch_line":"Judges of circuit courts; selection, powers and duties of chief judges; exercise of appointive powers","url":"\/17.1-501\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-501","metadata":false},{"id":79916,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-502","catch_line":"(Effective July 1, 2026) Administrator of circuit court system","url":"\/17.1-502\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-502","metadata":false},{"id":82440,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-503","catch_line":"Rules of practice and procedure; rules not to preclude judges from hearing certain cases","url":"\/17.1-503\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-503","metadata":false},{"id":81321,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-504","catch_line":"Reserved","url":"\/17.1-504\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-504","metadata":false},{"id":69322,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-505","catch_line":"Circuit court of county to constitute circuit court of certain cities","url":"\/17.1-505\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-505","metadata":false},{"id":80487,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-506","catch_line":"Judicial circuits","url":"\/17.1-506\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-506","metadata":false},{"id":63426,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-507","catch_line":"Maximum number of judges; residence requirement; compensation; powers; etc","url":"\/17.1-507\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-507","metadata":false},{"id":81563,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-508","catch_line":"Judges in new or changed circuits; ratifying, validating and confirming certain actions","url":"\/17.1-508\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-508","metadata":false},{"id":76704,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-509","catch_line":"Vacancies in office of judge","url":"\/17.1-509\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-509","metadata":false},{"id":85553,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-510","catch_line":"Election of judge of new circuit; how court held meanwhile","url":"\/17.1-510\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-510","metadata":false},{"id":86070,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-511","catch_line":"Investigation and certification of necessity before vacancies filled","url":"\/17.1-511\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-511","metadata":false},{"id":63299,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-512","catch_line":"Election of successor judge before date of vacancy","url":"\/17.1-512\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-512","metadata":false},{"id":69430,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-513","catch_line":"Jurisdiction of circuit courts","url":"\/17.1-513\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-513","metadata":false},{"id":75083,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-513.01","catch_line":"Jurisdiction of circuit courts with respect to charitable assets","url":"\/17.1-513.01\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-513.01","metadata":false},{"id":85866,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-513.1","catch_line":"Appeals from administrative proceedings; abuse and neglect; record to be sealed","url":"\/17.1-513.1\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-513.1","metadata":false},{"id":72254,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-513.2","catch_line":"Use of telephonic communication systems or electronic video and audio communication systems to conduct hearing","url":"\/17.1-513.2\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-513.2","metadata":false},{"id":56207,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-514","catch_line":"When plaintiff entitled to less than $100; judgment for defendant","url":"\/17.1-514\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-514","metadata":false},{"id":81663,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-515","catch_line":"Jurisdiction formerly in county courts","url":"\/17.1-515\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-515","metadata":false},{"id":86475,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-515.1","catch_line":"Territorial jurisdiction of the Circuit Court for the City of Lynchburg","url":"\/17.1-515.1\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-515.1","metadata":false},{"id":70936,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-515.2","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/17.1-515.2\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-515.2","metadata":false},{"id":54255,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-515.3","catch_line":"Designation of courtrooms within twenty-first and twenty-third circuits for trial of certain cases","url":"\/17.1-515.3\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-515.3","metadata":false},{"id":67337,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-515.4","catch_line":"Designation of certain courtrooms within sixteenth circuit for trial of certain cases","url":"\/17.1-515.4\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-515.4","metadata":false},{"id":57670,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-515.5","catch_line":"Designation of certain courtrooms within twenty-fifth circuit for trial of certain cases","url":"\/17.1-515.5\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-515.5","metadata":false},{"id":60839,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-515.6","catch_line":"Concurrent law-enforcement jurisdiction over Joint Judicial Center in Winchester","url":"\/17.1-515.6\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-515.6","metadata":false},{"id":69717,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-515.7","catch_line":"Designation of certain courtrooms within twenty-fifth circuit for trial of certain cases","url":"\/17.1-515.7\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-515.7","metadata":false},{"id":54484,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-516","catch_line":"Jurisdiction of courts over certain waters","url":"\/17.1-516\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-516","metadata":false},{"id":68752,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-517","catch_line":"Number of terms; how fixed","url":"\/17.1-517\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-517","metadata":false},{"id":67026,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-518","catch_line":"Special terms; when, how and by whom appointed","url":"\/17.1-518\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-518","metadata":false},{"id":78723,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-519","catch_line":"Adjournment thereof to a future day","url":"\/17.1-519\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-519","metadata":false},{"id":65045,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-520","catch_line":"What tried at a special term","url":"\/17.1-520\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-520","metadata":false},{"id":82579,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-521","catch_line":"Who to hold special term; powers","url":"\/17.1-521\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-521","metadata":false},{"id":59896,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-522","catch_line":"Adjournment of special term","url":"\/17.1-522\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-522","metadata":false},{"id":56333,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-523","catch_line":"Salaries of judges of circuit courts","url":"\/17.1-523\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-523","metadata":false},{"id":80395,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-524","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/17.1-524\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-524","metadata":false},{"id":80472,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-525","catch_line":"Certain information to be made available to certain defendants found not guilty","url":"\/17.1-525\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-525","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":86070,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-511","catch_line":"Investigation and certification of necessity before vacancies filled","url":"\/17.1-511\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-511","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":69430,"structure_id":13258,"section_number":"17.1-513","catch_line":"Jurisdiction of circuit courts","url":"\/17.1-513\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-513","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/17.1-512\/","history_text":"<p>This law was first created in 1973. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 544 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 1973 \u201cActs\u201d aren\u2019t available online. It has been modified 4 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 1993, chapter 368; in 1998, chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?981+ful+CHAP0872\">872<\/a>; in 2004, chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?041+ful+CHAP0452\">452<\/a>; in 2018, chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?181+ful+CHAP0578\">578<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":76704,"section_number":"17.1-509","catch_line":"Vacancies in office of judge","order_by":null,"url":"\/17.1-509\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":59503,"section_number":"2.2-3117","catch_line":"Disclosure form","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-3117\/"},{"id":76882,"section_number":"30-111","catch_line":"Disclosure form","order_by":null,"url":"\/30-111\/"},{"id":67092,"section_number":"63.2-1515","catch_line":"Central registry; disclosure of information","order_by":null,"url":"\/63.2-1515\/"}],"permalink":{"id":163747,"object_type":"law","relational_id":63299,"identifier":"17.1-512","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-512","url":"\/17.1-512\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/17.1-512\/","token":"17.1\/5\/1\/17.1-512","dublin_core":{"Title":"Election of successor judge before date of vacancy","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 17.1-512","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section><p>Whenever a vacancy occurs or exists in the office of a <span class=\"dictionary\">judge<\/span> of a <span class=\"dictionary\">circuit<\/span> while the General Assembly is in session, or whenever the term of office of a <span class=\"dictionary\">judge<\/span> of a <span class=\"dictionary\">circuit<\/span> <span class=\"dictionary\">court<\/span> will expire or the office will be vacated at a date certain between the adjournment of the General Assembly and the commencement of the next session of the General Assembly, a successor <span class=\"dictionary\">judge<\/span> may be elected at any time during a session preceding the date of such vacancy, by the vote of a majority of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly, for a term of eight years and upon qualification, the successor <span class=\"dictionary\">judge<\/span> shall enter at once upon the discharge of the duties of his office. However, such successor <span class=\"dictionary\">judge<\/span> shall not enter upon the discharge of his duties prior to the commencement of his term of office. No person shall be elected or reelected to a subsequent term under this section until he has submitted to a criminal history record search and submitted to a search of the central registry maintained pursuant to \u00a7&nbsp;<a class=\"law\" title=\"Central registry; disclosure of information\" href=\"\/63.2-1515\/\">63.2-1515<\/a> for any founded complaint of child abuse or neglect and reports of such searches have been received by the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for <span class=\"dictionary\">Courts<\/span> of Justice. No person with a criminal <span class=\"dictionary\">conviction<\/span> for a <span class=\"dictionary\">felony<\/span> shall be appointed as a <span class=\"dictionary\">judge<\/span>. If the person has not met the requirement of filing in the preceding calendar year a disclosure form prescribed in \u00a7&nbsp;<a class=\"law\" title=\"Disclosure form\" href=\"\/2.2-3117\/\">2.2-3117<\/a> or <a class=\"law\" title=\"Disclosure form\" href=\"\/30-111\/\">30-111<\/a>, he shall also provide a written statement of economic interests on the disclosure form prescribed in \u00a7&nbsp;<a class=\"law\" title=\"Disclosure form\" href=\"\/2.2-3117\/\">2.2-3117<\/a> to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for <span class=\"dictionary\">Courts<\/span> of Justice.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":"                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nELECTION OF SUCCESSOR JUDGE BEFORE DATE OF VACANCY (\u00a7 17.1-512)\n\nWhenever a vacancy occurs or exists in the office of a judge of a circuit while\nthe General Assembly is in session, or whenever the term of office of a judge of\na circuit court will expire or the office will be vacated at a date certain\nbetween the adjournment of the General Assembly and the commencement of the next\nsession of the General Assembly, a successor judge may be elected at any time\nduring a session preceding the date of such vacancy, by the vote of a majority\nof the members elected to each house of the General Assembly, for a term of\neight years and upon qualification, the successor judge shall enter at once upon\nthe discharge of the duties of his office. However, such successor judge shall\nnot enter upon the discharge of his duties prior to the commencement of his term\nof office. No person shall be elected or reelected to a subsequent term under\nthis section until he has submitted to a criminal history record search and\nsubmitted to a search of the central registry maintained pursuant to \u00a7\n63.2-1515 for any founded complaint of child abuse or neglect and reports of\nsuch searches have been received by the Chairmen of the House and Senate\nCommittees for Courts of Justice. No person with a criminal conviction for a\nfelony shall be appointed as a judge. If the person has not met the requirement\nof filing in the preceding calendar year a disclosure form prescribed in \u00a7\n2.2-3117 or 30-111, he shall also provide a written statement of economic\ninterests on the disclosure form prescribed in \u00a7 2.2-3117 to the Chairmen of\nthe House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice.\n\nHISTORY: 1973, c. 544, \u00a7 17-122.1; 1993, c. 368; 1998, c. 872; 2004, c. 452;\n2018, c. 578.","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}}