                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

TRIAL OF TRAFFIC INFRACTIONS; MEASURE OF PROOF; FAILURE TO APPEAR (§
19.2-258.1)

For any traffic infraction cases tried in a district court, the court shall hear
and determine the case without the intervention of a jury. For any traffic
infraction case appealed to a circuit court, the defendant shall have the right
to trial by jury. The defendant shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty
beyond a reasonable doubt.
		When a person charged with a traffic infraction fails to enter a written or
court appearance, he shall be deemed to have waived court hearing and the case
may be heard in his absence, after which he shall be notified of the
court&#8217;s finding; however, the court shall not issue a warrant for his
failure to appear pursuant to § 46.2-938.

HISTORY: 1977, c. 585; 1978, c. 605; 1989, c. 705; 2001, c. 414; 2020, cc. 964,
965.