{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/8.01-410.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/8.01-410.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/8.01-410.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/8.01-410.html"}],"law_id":58962,"edition_id":1,"section_id":58962,"structure_id":15477,"section_number":"8.01-410","catch_line":"Inmates as witnesses in civil actions","history":"Code 1950, \u00a7 8-300.1; 1952, c. 487; 1966, c. 227; 1974, cc. 44, 45; 1977, c. 617; 1998, c. 596; 2001, c. 513; 2002, cc. 515, 544.","full_text":"Whenever any party in a civil action in any circuit court in this Commonwealth requires as a witness in his behalf, an inmate in a state or local correctional facility as defined in \u00a7 53.1-1, the court, on the application of such party or his attorney may, in its discretion and upon consideration of the importance of the personal appearance of the witness and the nature of the offense for which he is imprisoned, issue an order to the Director of the Department of Corrections to deliver such witness to the sheriff of the jurisdiction of the court issuing the order. If authorized by the court, the clerk of the circuit court or a deputy clerk may issue these orders on behalf of the court. The sheriff shall transport the inmate to the court to testify as such witness, and after he has testified and been released as such witness, the sheriff shall return the witness to the custody of the Department.\n\t\tIf necessary the sheriff may confine the inmate for the night in any convenient local correctional facility.\n\t\tUnder such rules and regulations as the superintendent of such an institution may prescribe, any party to a civil action in any circuit court in this Commonwealth may take the deposition of an inmate in the facility, which deposition, when taken, may be admissible in evidence as other depositions in civil actions.\n\t\tThe party seeking the testimony of such inmate shall advance a sum sufficient to defray the expenses and compensation of the correctional officers and sheriff, which the court shall tax as other costs.\n\t\tFor the purposes of this section, “correctional officers” shall have the same meaning as provided in \u00a7 53.1-1.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":216222,"text":"Whenever any party in a civil action in any circuit court in this Commonwealth requires as a witness in his behalf, an inmate in a state or local correctional facility as defined in \u00a7 53.1-1, the court, on the application of such party or his attorney may, in its discretion and upon consideration of the importance of the personal appearance of the witness and the nature of the offense for which he is imprisoned, issue an order to the Director of the Department of Corrections to deliver such witness to the sheriff of the jurisdiction of the court issuing the order. If authorized by the court, the clerk of the circuit court or a deputy clerk may issue these orders on behalf of the court. The sheriff shall transport the inmate to the court to testify as such witness, and after he has testified and been released as such witness, the sheriff shall return the witness to the custody of the Department.\n\t\tIf necessary the sheriff may confine the inmate for the night in any convenient local correctional facility.\n\t\tUnder such rules and regulations as the superintendent of such an institution may prescribe, any party to a civil action in any circuit court in this Commonwealth may take the deposition of an inmate in the facility, which deposition, when taken, may be admissible in evidence as other depositions in civil actions.\n\t\tThe party seeking the testimony of such inmate shall advance a sum sufficient to defray the expenses and compensation of the correctional officers and sheriff, which the court shall tax as other costs.\n\t\tFor the purposes of this section, “correctional officers” shall have the same meaning as provided in \u00a7 53.1-1.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":15477,"edition_id":1,"name":"Compelling Attendance of Witnesses, Etc","identifier":"5","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12870,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:55:21","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:55:21","permalink":{"id":277509,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15477,"identifier":"5","token":"8.01\/14\/5","url":"\/8.01\/14\/5\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12870,"edition_id":1,"name":"Evidence","identifier":"14","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12747,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:57","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:57","permalink":{"id":277357,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12870,"identifier":"14","token":"8.01\/14","url":"\/8.01\/14\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12747,"edition_id":1,"name":"Civil Remedies and Procedure","identifier":"8.01","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","permalink":{"id":277029,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12747,"identifier":"8.01","token":"8.01","url":"\/8.01\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":59524,"structure_id":15477,"section_number":"8.01-407","catch_line":"How summons for witness issued and to whom directed; how witness released from subpoena; prior permission of court to summon certain officials and judges","url":"\/8.01-407\/","token":"8.01\/14\/5\/8.01-407","metadata":false},{"id":87338,"structure_id":15477,"section_number":"8.01-407.1","catch_line":"Identity of persons communicating anonymously over the Internet","url":"\/8.01-407.1\/","token":"8.01\/14\/5\/8.01-407.1","metadata":false},{"id":61270,"structure_id":15477,"section_number":"8.01-408","catch_line":"Recognizance taken upon continuance of case","url":"\/8.01-408\/","token":"8.01\/14\/5\/8.01-408","metadata":false},{"id":78233,"structure_id":15477,"section_number":"8.01-409","catch_line":"When court may have process for witness executed by its own officer in another county or city","url":"\/8.01-409\/","token":"8.01\/14\/5\/8.01-409","metadata":false},{"id":58962,"structure_id":15477,"section_number":"8.01-410","catch_line":"Inmates as witnesses in civil actions","url":"\/8.01-410\/","token":"8.01\/14\/5\/8.01-410","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":78233,"structure_id":15477,"section_number":"8.01-409","catch_line":"When court may have process for witness executed by its own officer in another county or city","url":"\/8.01-409\/","token":"8.01\/14\/5\/8.01-409","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/8.01-410\/","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 1952, chapter 487; in 1966, chapter 227; in 1974, chapters 44 and 45; in 1977, chapter 617; in 1998, chapter 596<\/a>; in 2001, chapter 513<\/a>; in 2002, chapters 515<\/a> and 544<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":79168,"section_number":"16.1-276.2","catch_line":"Transportation orders in certain proceedings","order_by":null,"url":"\/16.1-276.2\/"},{"id":70616,"section_number":"19.2-267","catch_line":"Provisions applicable to witnesses in criminal as well as civil cases; obligation to attend; summons","order_by":null,"url":"\/19.2-267\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":85635,"section_number":"53.1-1","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/53.1-1\/"}],"permalink":{"id":277527,"object_type":"law","relational_id":58962,"identifier":"8.01-410","token":"8.01\/14\/5\/8.01-410","url":"\/8.01-410\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/8.01-410\/","token":"8.01\/14\/5\/8.01-410","dublin_core":{"Title":"Inmates as witnesses in civil actions","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 8.01-410","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Whenever any party<\/span> in a civil action<\/span> in any circuit<\/span> court<\/span> in this Commonwealth requires as a witness<\/span> in his behalf, an inmate in a state or local correctional facility as defined in \u00a7 53.1-1<\/a>, the court<\/span>, on the application of such party<\/span> or his attorney may, in its discretion and upon consideration of the importance of the personal appearance<\/span> of the witness<\/span> and the nature of the offense<\/span> for which he is imprisoned, issue<\/span> an order<\/span> to the Director of the Department of Corrections to deliver such witness<\/span> to the sheriff<\/span> of the jurisdiction<\/span> of the court<\/span> issuing the order<\/span>. If authorized by the court<\/span>, the clerk of the circuit<\/span> court<\/span> or a deputy clerk may issue<\/span> these orders<\/span> on behalf of the court<\/span>. The sheriff<\/span> shall transport the inmate to the court<\/span> to testify as such witness<\/span>, and after he has testified and been released as such witness<\/span>, the sheriff<\/span> shall return the witness<\/span> to the custody<\/span> of the Department.\n\t\tIf necessary the sheriff<\/span> may confine the inmate for the night in any convenient local correctional facility.\n\t\tUnder such rules and regulations as the superintendent of such an institution may prescribe, any party<\/span> to a civil action<\/span> in any circuit<\/span> court<\/span> in this Commonwealth may take the deposition<\/span> of an inmate in the facility, which deposition<\/span>, when taken, may be admissible<\/span> in evidence<\/span> as other depositions<\/span> in civil actions<\/span>.\n\t\tThe party<\/span> seeking the testimony<\/span> of such inmate shall advance a sum sufficient to defray the expenses and compensation of the correctional officers and sheriff<\/span>, which the court<\/span> shall tax as other costs.\n\t\tFor the purposes of this section, “correctional officers” shall have the same meaning as provided in \u00a7 53.1-1<\/a>.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nINMATES AS WITNESSES IN CIVIL ACTIONS (\u00a7 8.01-410)\n\nWhenever any party in a civil action in any circuit court in this Commonwealth\nrequires as a witness in his behalf, an inmate in a state or local correctional\nfacility as defined in \u00a7 53.1-1, the court, on the application of such party or\nhis attorney may, in its discretion and upon consideration of the importance of\nthe personal appearance of the witness and the nature of the offense for which\nhe is imprisoned, issue an order to the Director of the Department of\nCorrections to deliver such witness to the sheriff of the jurisdiction of the\ncourt issuing the order. If authorized by the court, the clerk of the circuit\ncourt or a deputy clerk may issue these orders on behalf of the court. The\nsheriff shall transport the inmate to the court to testify as such witness, and\nafter he has testified and been released as such witness, the sheriff shall\nreturn the witness to the custody of the Department.\n\t\tIf necessary the sheriff may confine the inmate for the night in any\nconvenient local correctional facility.\n\t\tUnder such rules and regulations as the superintendent of such an institution\nmay prescribe, any party to a civil action in any circuit court in this\nCommonwealth may take the deposition of an inmate in the facility, which\ndeposition, when taken, may be admissible in evidence as other depositions in\ncivil actions.\n\t\tThe party seeking the testimony of such inmate shall advance a sum sufficient\nto defray the expenses and compensation of the correctional officers and\nsheriff, which the court shall tax as other costs.\n\t\tFor the purposes of this section, “correctional officers” shall\nhave the same meaning as provided in \u00a7 53.1-1.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1950, \u00a7 8-300.1; 1952, c. 487; 1966, c. 227; 1974, cc. 44, 45;\n1977, c. 617; 1998, c. 596; 2001, c. 513; 2002, cc. 515, 544.","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}}