{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/19.2-327.13.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/19.2-327.13.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/19.2-327.13.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/19.2-327.13.html"}],"law_id":82426,"edition_id":1,"section_id":82426,"structure_id":13838,"section_number":"19.2-327.13","catch_line":"Relief under writ","history":"2004, c. 1024; 2007, cc. 465, 824, 883, 905; 2013, cc. 170, 180; 2020, cc. 993, 994.","full_text":"Upon consideration of the petition, the response by the Commonwealth, previous records of the case, the record of any hearing held under this chapter, and, if applicable, any findings certified from the circuit court pursuant to an order issued under this chapter, the Court of Appeals, if it has not already summarily dismissed the petition, shall either dismiss the petition for failure to state a claim or assert grounds upon which relief shall be granted, or the Court shall (i) dismiss the petition for failure to establish previously unknown, unavailable, or untested evidence sufficient to justify the issuance of the writ, or (ii) only upon a finding that the petitioner has proven by a preponderance of the evidence all of the allegations contained in clauses (iv) through (viii) of subsection A of \u00a7 19.2-327.11, and upon a finding that no rational trier of fact would have found proof of guilt or delinquency beyond a reasonable doubt, grant the writ, and vacate the conviction or finding of delinquency, or in the event that the Court finds that no rational trier of fact would have found sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt as to one or more elements of the offense for which the petitioner was convicted or adjudicated delinquent, but the Court finds that there remains in the original trial record evidence sufficient to find the petitioner guilty or delinquent beyond a reasonable doubt of a lesser included offense, the Court shall modify the order of conviction or delinquency accordingly and remand the case to the circuit court that entered the conviction or adjudication of delinquency for resentencing. The burden of proof in a proceeding brought pursuant to this chapter shall be upon the convicted or delinquent person seeking relief. If a writ vacating a conviction or adjudication of delinquency is granted, and no appeal is made to the Supreme Court, or the Supreme Court denies the Commonwealth’s petition for appeal or upholds the decision of the Court of Appeals to grant the writ, the Court of Appeals shall forward a copy of the writ to the circuit court, where an order of expungement shall be immediately granted.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":295336,"text":"Upon consideration of the petition, the response by the Commonwealth, previous records of the case, the record of any hearing held under this chapter, and, if applicable, any findings certified from the circuit court pursuant to an order issued under this chapter, the Court of Appeals, if it has not already summarily dismissed the petition, shall either dismiss the petition for failure to state a claim or assert grounds upon which relief shall be granted, or the Court shall (i) dismiss the petition for failure to establish previously unknown, unavailable, or untested evidence sufficient to justify the issuance of the writ, or (ii) only upon a finding that the petitioner has proven by a preponderance of the evidence all of the allegations contained in clauses (iv) through (viii) of subsection A of \u00a7 19.2-327.11, and upon a finding that no rational trier of fact would have found proof of guilt or delinquency beyond a reasonable doubt, grant the writ, and vacate the conviction or finding of delinquency, or in the event that the Court finds that no rational trier of fact would have found sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt as to one or more elements of the offense for which the petitioner was convicted or adjudicated delinquent, but the Court finds that there remains in the original trial record evidence sufficient to find the petitioner guilty or delinquent beyond a reasonable doubt of a lesser included offense, the Court shall modify the order of conviction or delinquency accordingly and remand the case to the circuit court that entered the conviction or adjudication of delinquency for resentencing. The burden of proof in a proceeding brought pursuant to this chapter shall be upon the convicted or delinquent person seeking relief. If a writ vacating a conviction or adjudication of delinquency is granted, and no appeal is made to the Supreme Court, or the Supreme Court denies the Commonwealth’s petition for appeal or upholds the decision of the Court of Appeals to grant the writ, the Court of Appeals shall forward a copy of the writ to the circuit court, where an order of expungement shall be immediately granted.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":13838,"edition_id":1,"name":"Issuance of Writ of Actual Innocence Based on Nonbiological Evidence","identifier":"19.3","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12801,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:46:02","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:46:02","permalink":{"id":169811,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13838,"identifier":"19.3","token":"19.2\/19.3","url":"\/19.2\/19.3\/","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":84885,"structure_id":13838,"section_number":"19.2-327.10","catch_line":"Issuance of writ of actual innocence based on nonbiological evidence","url":"\/19.2-327.10\/","token":"19.2\/19.3\/19.2-327.10","metadata":false},{"id":61792,"structure_id":13838,"section_number":"19.2-327.10:1","catch_line":"Petition for writ of actual innocence joined by Attorney General; release of prisoner; bond hearing","url":"\/19.2-327.10_1\/","token":"19.2\/19.3\/19.2-327.10_1","metadata":false},{"id":80666,"structure_id":13838,"section_number":"19.2-327.11","catch_line":"Contents and form of the petition based on previously unknown or unavailable evidence of actual innocence","url":"\/19.2-327.11\/","token":"19.2\/19.3\/19.2-327.11","metadata":false},{"id":54853,"structure_id":13838,"section_number":"19.2-327.12","catch_line":"Determination by Court of Appeals for findings of fact by the circuit court","url":"\/19.2-327.12\/","token":"19.2\/19.3\/19.2-327.12","metadata":false},{"id":82426,"structure_id":13838,"section_number":"19.2-327.13","catch_line":"Relief under writ","url":"\/19.2-327.13\/","token":"19.2\/19.3\/19.2-327.13","metadata":false},{"id":65147,"structure_id":13838,"section_number":"19.2-327.14","catch_line":"Claims of relief","url":"\/19.2-327.14\/","token":"19.2\/19.3\/19.2-327.14","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":54853,"structure_id":13838,"section_number":"19.2-327.12","catch_line":"Determination by Court of Appeals for findings of fact by the circuit court","url":"\/19.2-327.12\/","token":"19.2\/19.3\/19.2-327.12","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":65147,"structure_id":13838,"section_number":"19.2-327.14","catch_line":"Claims of relief","url":"\/19.2-327.14\/","token":"19.2\/19.3\/19.2-327.14","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/19.2-327.13\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 2004. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 1024<\/a> 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. 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 2007, chapters 465<\/a>, 824<\/a>, 883<\/a>, and 905<\/a>; in 2013, chapters 170<\/a> and 180<\/a>; in 2020, chapters 993<\/a> and 994<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":61792,"section_number":"19.2-327.10:1","catch_line":"Petition for writ of actual innocence joined by Attorney General; release of prisoner; bond hearing","order_by":null,"url":"\/19.2-327.10_1\/"},{"id":77838,"section_number":"19.2-392.2","catch_line":"(Effective July 1, 2026) Expungement of police and court records","order_by":null,"url":"\/19.2-392.2\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":80666,"section_number":"19.2-327.11","catch_line":"Contents and form of the petition based on previously unknown or unavailable evidence of actual innocence","order_by":null,"url":"\/19.2-327.11\/"}],"permalink":{"id":169829,"object_type":"law","relational_id":82426,"identifier":"19.2-327.13","token":"19.2\/19.3\/19.2-327.13","url":"\/19.2-327.13\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/19.2-327.13\/","token":"19.2\/19.3\/19.2-327.13","dublin_core":{"Title":"Relief under writ","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 19.2-327.13","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Upon consideration of the petition<\/span>, the response by the Commonwealth, previous records of the case, the record of any hearing<\/span> held under this chapter, and, if applicable, any findings<\/span> certified from the circuit<\/span> court<\/span> pursuant to an order<\/span> issued under this chapter, the Court<\/span> of Appeals<\/span>, if it has not already summarily dismissed the petition<\/span>, shall either dismiss the petition<\/span> for failure to state a claim or assert grounds upon which relief shall be granted, or the Court<\/span> shall (i) dismiss the petition<\/span> for failure to establish previously unknown, unavailable, or untested evidence sufficient to justify the issuance of the writ<\/span>, or (ii) only upon a finding<\/span> that the petitioner has proven by a preponderance of the evidence<\/span> all of the allegations<\/span> contained in clauses (iv) through (viii) of subsection A of \u00a7 19.2-327.11<\/a>, and upon a finding<\/span> that no rational trier of fact<\/span> would have found proof of guilt or delinquency beyond a reasonable doubt<\/span>, grant the writ<\/span>, and vacate the conviction<\/span> or finding<\/span> of delinquency, or in the event that the Court<\/span> finds that no rational trier of fact<\/span> would have found sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt<\/span> as to one or more elements of the offense for which the petitioner was convicted or adjudicated delinquent, but the Court<\/span> finds that there remains in the original trial<\/span> record evidence sufficient to find the petitioner guilty or delinquent beyond a reasonable doubt<\/span> of a lesser included offense<\/span>, the Court<\/span> shall modify the order<\/span> of conviction<\/span> or delinquency accordingly and remand<\/span> the case to the circuit<\/span> court<\/span> that entered the conviction<\/span> or adjudication of delinquency for resentencing. The burden of proof<\/span> in a proceeding brought pursuant to this chapter shall be upon the convicted or delinquent person seeking relief. If a writ<\/span> vacating a conviction<\/span> or adjudication of delinquency is granted, and no appeal<\/span> is made to the Supreme Court<\/span>, or the Supreme Court<\/span> denies the Commonwealth’s petition<\/span> for appeal<\/span> or upholds<\/span> the decision of the Court<\/span> of Appeals<\/span> to grant the writ<\/span>, the Court<\/span> of Appeals<\/span> shall forward a copy of the writ<\/span> to the circuit<\/span> court<\/span>, where an order<\/span> of expungement shall be immediately granted.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nRELIEF UNDER WRIT (\u00a7 19.2-327.13)\n\nUpon consideration of the petition, the response by the Commonwealth, previous\nrecords of the case, the record of any hearing held under this chapter, and, if\napplicable, any findings certified from the circuit court pursuant to an order\nissued under this chapter, the Court of Appeals, if it has not already summarily\ndismissed the petition, shall either dismiss the petition for failure to state a\nclaim or assert grounds upon which relief shall be granted, or the Court shall\n(i) dismiss the petition for failure to establish previously unknown,\nunavailable, or untested evidence sufficient to justify the issuance of the\nwrit, or (ii) only upon a finding that the petitioner has proven by a\npreponderance of the evidence all of the allegations contained in clauses (iv)\nthrough (viii) of subsection A of \u00a7 19.2-327.11, and upon a finding that no\nrational trier of fact would have found proof of guilt or delinquency beyond a\nreasonable doubt, grant the writ, and vacate the conviction or finding of\ndelinquency, or in the event that the Court finds that no rational trier of fact\nwould have found sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt as to one or more\nelements of the offense for which the petitioner was convicted or adjudicated\ndelinquent, but the Court finds that there remains in the original trial record\nevidence sufficient to find the petitioner guilty or delinquent beyond a\nreasonable doubt of a lesser included offense, the Court shall modify the order\nof conviction or delinquency accordingly and remand the case to the circuit\ncourt that entered the conviction or adjudication of delinquency for\nresentencing. The burden of proof in a proceeding brought pursuant to this\nchapter shall be upon the convicted or delinquent person seeking relief. If a\nwrit vacating a conviction or adjudication of delinquency is granted, and no\nappeal is made to the Supreme Court, or the Supreme Court denies the\nCommonwealth’s petition for appeal or upholds the decision of the Court of\nAppeals to grant the writ, the Court of Appeals shall forward a copy of the writ\nto the circuit court, where an order of expungement shall be immediately\ngranted.\n\nHISTORY: 2004, c. 1024; 2007, cc. 465, 824, 883, 905; 2013, cc. 170, 180; 2020,\ncc. 993, 994.","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}}