                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

HEARING ON PETITION FOR VACATUR (§ 19.2-327.18)

A. If the attorney for the Commonwealth of the county or city in which the
petition is filed (i) gives written notice to the court that he does not object
to the petition and (ii) stipulates in such written notice that the petitioner
was convicted or adjudicated delinquent of a qualifying offense and that the
petitioner was a victim of human trafficking at the time he committed the
qualifying offense and his status as a victim of human trafficking was the
proximate cause of the commission of the qualifying offense, the circuit court
may grant the writ and vacate the qualifying offense without conducting a
hearing.

B. If the attorney for the Commonwealth of the county or city in which the
petition is filed objects to the petition or does not file an answer, the court
shall conduct a hearing on the petition after reasonable notice has been
provided to both the petitioner and the attorney for the Commonwealth. The
attorney for the Commonwealth shall make reasonable efforts to notify any
victim, as defined in &#xA7; 19.2-11.01, of any qualifying offense of such
hearing. In any such hearing, the attorney for the Commonwealth may proffer any
evidence pertaining to the guilt or innocence of the petitioner, including
evidence that was suppressed at trial. The circuit court shall not be required
to conduct a hearing if it has previously dismissed a petition for vacatur from
the same petitioner for the same qualifying offense.

C. Upon finding that the petitioner has by a preponderance of the evidence
proven the elements contained in subsection A of &#xA7; 19.2-327.17, the circuit
court shall grant the writ and vacate the qualifying offense. If the petitioner
fails to prove any of these elements, the court shall dismiss the petition.

D. Prior to any decision to grant the writ, the court shall determine whether
any restitution is unpaid under the terms of the sentencing order for the
qualifying offense. If the court grants the writ, the petitioner shall be
forever discharged from any such restitution obligation, and the victim, as
defined in &#xA7; 19.2-11.01, of the qualifying offense shall be deemed a victim
of crime as defined in &#xA7; 19.2-368.2. Such victim shall be eligible to
petition for awards pursuant to Chapter 21.1 (&#xA7; 19.2-368.1 et seq.), and
his claim for restitution reimbursement shall be deemed to accrue on the date
the court grants the writ.

E. The court may grant the writ and vacate the qualifying offense regardless of
whether any person other than the petitioner has been charged or convicted of an
offense related to the petitioner being a victim of human trafficking.

HISTORY: 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 543; 2025, cc. 633, 663.