                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

LIMITATIONS AS TO ISSUANCE OF WARRANTS FOR JUVENILES; DETENTION ORDERS (§
16.1-256)

No warrant of arrest shall be issued for any juvenile by a magistrate, except as
follows:

1. As provided in &#xA7; 16.1-260 on appeal from a decision of an intake officer
to refuse to authorize a petition based solely upon a finding that no probable
cause exists; or

2. Upon a finding of probable cause to believe that the child is in need of
services or is a delinquent, when (i) the court is not open and (ii) the judge
and the intake officer of the juvenile and domestic relations district court are
not reasonably available. For purposes of this section, the phrase &#8220;not
reasonably available&#8221; means that neither the judge nor the intake officer
of the juvenile and domestic relations district court could be reached after the
appearance by the juvenile before a magistrate or that neither could arrive
within one hour after he was contacted.
			When a magistrate is authorized to issue a warrant pursuant to subdivision 2,
he may also issue a detention order, if the criteria for detention set forth in
&#xA7; 16.1-248.1 have been satisfied.
			Warrants issued pursuant to this section shall be delivered forthwith to the
juvenile court.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 16.1-195; 1956, c. 555; 1958, c. 344; 1973, c. 440; 1977,
c. 559; 1979, c. 701; 1980, c. 234; 1981, c. 184; 1983, c. 349; 1986, c. 295;
1996, cc. 755, 914; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 30.