{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/19.2-158.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/19.2-158.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/19.2-158.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/19.2-158.html"}],"law_id":78329,"edition_id":1,"section_id":78329,"structure_id":15038,"section_number":"19.2-158","catch_line":"When person not free on bail shall be informed of right to counsel and amount of bail","history":"Code 1950, \u00a7\u00a7 19.1-241.2, 19.1-241.8; 1964, c. 657; 1966, c. 460; 1973, c. 316; 1975, c. 495; 1998, c. 773; 1999, cc. 829, 846; 2014, c. 515.","full_text":"Every person charged with an offense described in \u00a7 19.2-157, who is not free on bail or otherwise, shall be brought before the judge of a court not of record, unless the circuit court issues process commanding the presence of the person, in which case the person shall be brought before the circuit court, on the first day on which such court sits after the person is charged, at which time the judge shall inform the accused of the amount of his bail and his right to counsel. If the court not of record sits on a day prior to the scheduled sitting of the court which issued process, the person shall be brought before the court not of record. The court shall also hear and consider motions by the person or Commonwealth relating to bail or conditions of release pursuant to Article 1 (\u00a7 19.2-119 et seq.) of Chapter 9 of this title. Absent good cause shown, a hearing on bail or conditions of release shall be held as soon as practicable but in no event later than three calendar days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, following the making of such motion.\n\t\tNo hearing on the charges against the accused shall be had until the foregoing conditions have been complied with, and the accused shall be allowed a reasonable opportunity to employ counsel of his own choice, or, if appropriate, the statement of indigence provided for in \u00a7 19.2-159 may be executed.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":280758,"text":"Every person charged with an offense described in \u00a7 19.2-157, who is not free on bail or otherwise, shall be brought before the judge of a court not of record, unless the circuit court issues process commanding the presence of the person, in which case the person shall be brought before the circuit court, on the first day on which such court sits after the person is charged, at which time the judge shall inform the accused of the amount of his bail and his right to counsel. If the court not of record sits on a day prior to the scheduled sitting of the court which issued process, the person shall be brought before the court not of record. The court shall also hear and consider motions by the person or Commonwealth relating to bail or conditions of release pursuant to Article 1 (\u00a7 19.2-119 et seq.) of Chapter 9 of this title. Absent good cause shown, a hearing on bail or conditions of release shall be held as soon as practicable but in no event later than three calendar days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, following the making of such motion.\n\t\tNo hearing on the charges against the accused shall be had until the foregoing conditions have been complied with, and the accused shall be allowed a reasonable opportunity to employ counsel of his own choice, or, if appropriate, the statement of indigence provided for in \u00a7 19.2-159 may be executed.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":15038,"edition_id":1,"name":"Appointment of Attorney for Accused","identifier":"3","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":15037,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:51:40","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:51:40","permalink":{"id":168341,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15038,"identifier":"3","token":"19.2\/10\/3","url":"\/19.2\/10\/3\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":15037,"edition_id":1,"name":"Disability of Judge or Attorney for Commonwealth; Court- Appointed Counsel; Interpreters; Transcripts","identifier":"10","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12801,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:51:40","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:51:40","permalink":{"id":168319,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15037,"identifier":"10","token":"19.2\/10","url":"\/19.2\/10\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12801,"edition_id":1,"name":"Criminal Procedure","identifier":"19.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:53","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:53","permalink":{"id":168169,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12801,"identifier":"19.2","token":"19.2","url":"\/19.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":68516,"structure_id":15038,"section_number":"19.2-157","catch_line":"Duty of court when accused appears without counsel","url":"\/19.2-157\/","token":"19.2\/10\/3\/19.2-157","metadata":false},{"id":78329,"structure_id":15038,"section_number":"19.2-158","catch_line":"When person not free on bail shall be informed of right to counsel and amount of bail","url":"\/19.2-158\/","token":"19.2\/10\/3\/19.2-158","metadata":false},{"id":57328,"structure_id":15038,"section_number":"19.2-159","catch_line":"Determination of indigency; guidelines; statement of indigence; appointment of counsel","url":"\/19.2-159\/","token":"19.2\/10\/3\/19.2-159","metadata":false},{"id":59760,"structure_id":15038,"section_number":"19.2-159.1","catch_line":"Interrogation by court; filing; change in circumstances; investigation by attorney for Commonwealth","url":"\/19.2-159.1\/","token":"19.2\/10\/3\/19.2-159.1","metadata":false},{"id":66760,"structure_id":15038,"section_number":"19.2-160","catch_line":"Appointment of counsel or waiver of right","url":"\/19.2-160\/","token":"19.2\/10\/3\/19.2-160","metadata":false},{"id":69984,"structure_id":15038,"section_number":"19.2-160.1","catch_line":"Appointment of counsel in Class 1 felony cases or cases involving a felony punishable by a mandatory minimum term of confinement for life","url":"\/19.2-160.1\/","token":"19.2\/10\/3\/19.2-160.1","metadata":false},{"id":76242,"structure_id":15038,"section_number":"19.2-161","catch_line":"Penalty for false swearing with regard to statement of indigence","url":"\/19.2-161\/","token":"19.2\/10\/3\/19.2-161","metadata":false},{"id":61067,"structure_id":15038,"section_number":"19.2-162","catch_line":"Continuances to be granted if necessary","url":"\/19.2-162\/","token":"19.2\/10\/3\/19.2-162","metadata":false},{"id":80860,"structure_id":15038,"section_number":"19.2-163","catch_line":"Compensation of court-appointed counsel","url":"\/19.2-163\/","token":"19.2\/10\/3\/19.2-163","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":68516,"structure_id":15038,"section_number":"19.2-157","catch_line":"Duty of court when accused appears without counsel","url":"\/19.2-157\/","token":"19.2\/10\/3\/19.2-157","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":57328,"structure_id":15038,"section_number":"19.2-159","catch_line":"Determination of indigency; guidelines; statement of indigence; appointment of counsel","url":"\/19.2-159\/","token":"19.2\/10\/3\/19.2-159","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/19.2-158\/","history_text":"

The record of this law\u2019s original creation isn\u2019t available online. It has been modified 7 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 1964, chapter 657; in 1966, chapter 460; in 1973, chapter 316; in 1975, chapter 495; in 1998, chapter 773<\/a>; in 1999, chapters 829<\/a> and 846<\/a>; in 2014, chapter 515<\/a>.<\/p>","references":false,"refers_to":[{"id":61367,"section_number":"19.2-119","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/19.2-119\/"},{"id":68516,"section_number":"19.2-157","catch_line":"Duty of court when accused appears without counsel","order_by":null,"url":"\/19.2-157\/"},{"id":57328,"section_number":"19.2-159","catch_line":"Determination of indigency; guidelines; statement of indigence; appointment of counsel","order_by":null,"url":"\/19.2-159\/"}],"permalink":{"id":168347,"object_type":"law","relational_id":78329,"identifier":"19.2-158","token":"19.2\/10\/3\/19.2-158","url":"\/19.2-158\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/19.2-158\/","token":"19.2\/10\/3\/19.2-158","dublin_core":{"Title":"When person not free on bail shall be informed of right to counsel and amount of bail","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 19.2-158","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Every person charged with an offense<\/span> described in \u00a7 19.2-157<\/a>, who is not free on bail<\/span> or otherwise, shall be brought before the judge<\/span> of a court<\/span> not of record, unless the circuit<\/span> court<\/span> issues<\/span> process commanding the presence of the person, in which case the person shall be brought before the circuit<\/span> court<\/span>, on the first day on which such court<\/span> sits after the person is charged, at which time the judge<\/span> shall inform the accused<\/span> of the amount of his bail<\/span> and his right to counsel<\/span>. If the court<\/span> not of record sits on a day prior to the scheduled sitting of the court<\/span> which issued process, the person shall be brought before the court<\/span> not of record. The court<\/span> shall also hear and consider motions<\/span> by the person or Commonwealth relating to bail<\/span> or conditions of release pursuant to Article 1 (\u00a7 19.2-119<\/a> et seq.) of Chapter 9 of this title. Absent good cause shown, a hearing<\/span> on bail<\/span> or conditions of release shall be held as soon as practicable but in no event later than three calendar days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, following the making of such motion<\/span>.\n\t\tNo hearing<\/span> on the charges against the accused<\/span> shall be had until the foregoing conditions have been complied with, and the accused<\/span> shall be allowed a reasonable opportunity to employ counsel<\/span> of his own choice, or, if appropriate, the statement of indigence provided for in \u00a7 19.2-159<\/a> may be executed.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nWHEN PERSON NOT FREE ON BAIL SHALL BE INFORMED OF RIGHT TO COUNSEL AND AMOUNT OF\nBAIL (\u00a7 19.2-158)\n\nEvery person charged with an offense described in \u00a7 19.2-157, who is not free\non bail or otherwise, shall be brought before the judge of a court not of\nrecord, unless the circuit court issues process commanding the presence of the\nperson, in which case the person shall be brought before the circuit court, on\nthe first day on which such court sits after the person is charged, at which\ntime the judge shall inform the accused of the amount of his bail and his right\nto counsel. If the court not of record sits on a day prior to the scheduled\nsitting of the court which issued process, the person shall be brought before\nthe court not of record. The court shall also hear and consider motions by the\nperson or Commonwealth relating to bail or conditions of release pursuant to\nArticle 1 (\u00a7 19.2-119 et seq.) of Chapter 9 of this title. Absent good cause\nshown, a hearing on bail or conditions of release shall be held as soon as\npracticable but in no event later than three calendar days, excluding Saturdays,\nSundays, and legal holidays, following the making of such motion.\n\t\tNo hearing on the charges against the accused shall be had until the foregoing\nconditions have been complied with, and the accused shall be allowed a\nreasonable opportunity to employ counsel of his own choice, or, if appropriate,\nthe statement of indigence provided for in \u00a7 19.2-159 may be executed.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1950, \u00a7\u00a7 19.1-241.2, 19.1-241.8; 1964, c. 657; 1966, c. 460;\n1973, c. 316; 1975, c. 495; 1998, c. 773; 1999, cc. 829, 846; 2014, c. 515.","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}}