                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ATTORNEYS FOR THE COMMONWEALTH FOR CITIES; NO ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION FOR
SUBSTITUTING FOR OR ASSISTING ANY OTHER ATTORNEY FOR THE COMMONWEALTH OR
ASSISTANT (§ 15.2-1630)

The voters in every city shall elect, for a term of four years, an attorney for
the Commonwealth. Any city not required to have or to elect such officer prior
to July 1, 1971, shall not be so required by this section. Assistant attorneys
for the Commonwealth for cities may be appointed by the attorney for the
Commonwealth for such city. Such assistants shall receive such compensation as
shall be fixed in the manner provided by law. However, volunteer assistant
attorneys for the Commonwealth serving without compensation may be appointed by
the attorney for the Commonwealth without approval of the governing body or the
Compensation Board. All assistant attorneys for the Commonwealth shall perform
such duties as are prescribed by their respective attorney for the Commonwealth.
In cities having a population of more than 35,000, attorneys for the
Commonwealth and all assistant attorneys for the Commonwealth, except volunteer
assistants serving without compensation, shall devote full time to their duties,
and shall not engage in the private practice of law; however, this provision
shall not apply in cities reaching a population of more than 35,000, which had a
population of 35,000 or less immediately prior to the commencement of the term
for which the attorney for the Commonwealth sought office. In cities having a
population of more than 17,000 and less than 35,000, attorneys for the
Commonwealth and all assistant attorneys for the Commonwealth, except volunteer
assistants serving without compensation, shall devote full time to their duties,
and shall not engage in the private practice of law, if the council of the city
and the Compensation Board all concur that he shall so serve. The office of
assistant attorney for the Commonwealth heretofore created and provided for in
the charters of such cities is hereby abolished.
		Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no attorney for the Commonwealth
or assistant required to devote full time to his duties shall receive any
additional compensation from the Commonwealth or any city or county for
substituting for or assisting any other attorney for the Commonwealth or his
assistant in any criminal prosecution or investigation.
		Any attorney for the Commonwealth who is serving full time when the population
for his city declines to 35,000 or less, according to a new United States
census, may elect to continue serving on a full-time basis for the remainder of
his current term and any subsequent successive terms. So long as he continues to
serve on a full-time basis, he shall be compensated for full-time service on the
same basis as an attorney for the Commonwealth in a city having a population of
35,001.
		Any city served by a full-time attorney for the Commonwealth on January 1,
1993, under the provisions hereof shall continue to be served by a full-time
attorney for the Commonwealth in the event the population of such city shall
have fallen below the 17,000 population threshold in the most recent U.S. census
and shall be administered in the same manner as cities with populations in
excess of 17,000 but of 35,000 or less. In such jurisdictions, the attorney for
the Commonwealth and his assistant attorneys and their successors in office
shall be subject to the requirements regarding full-time service and part-time
private practice as in effect for such positions on January 1, 1993. No further
action by the council of the city or the Compensation Board shall be necessary.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 15-414; 1956, c. 590; 1962, cc. 523, 623, § 15.1-821;
1971, Ex. Sess., c. 159; 1974, c. 470; 1977, c. 623; 1981, c. 296; 1983, c. 361;
1986, c. 497; 1991, c. 270; 1993, cc. 446, 620; 1994, cc. 780, 792; 1997, c.
587; 2000, c. 913.