3.3 The Virginia Code

• Library: A Guide to Legal Research in Virginia (Virginia CLE) (2021 Ed.)

3.3 THE VIRGINIA CODE

3.301 Code of Virginia of 1950.

A. Generally. The Virginia Code Commission, a permanent commission formed by the legislature, takes the session laws passed each year by the legislature and integrates those laws into broad subject headings called "titles."³⁰ The Commission then organizes the text of the statutes under these titles and assigns section numbers to the law.³¹ The resulting Code of Virginia is the main tool used by lawyers to locate Virginia statutes.

There are currently two printed editions of the Code: The Code of Virginia 1950, Annotated is published by LexisNexis, and West's Annotated Code of Virginia is published by Thomson Reuters. Both contain annotations and editorial enhancements protected by copyright; only the text of the statutes is in the public domain.³² Although the publication may still reference 1950, the date of the last full codification, the text is updated yearly in both versions.

B. Arrangement and Citation. The Code of Virginia has seventy-four numbered titles ranging from Title 1 to Title 66, each corresponding with a general subject area of the law, such as criminal law or commercial law. These titles are arranged alphabetically and each is assigned a title number. The broad subjects covered by each title are then subdivided into subtitles, chapters, articles, and sections. The number of divisions within a title varies depending on its size and complexity.

The Virginia Code Commission has adopted the use of the period to subdivide sections, which causes some confusion for researchers. The period may appear in two places in the Code. First, titles that have been substantially changed due to amendments may be repealed and reissued. The reissued title will have a ".1" or ".2" after the title number to indicate its version. For example, the current title on "Counties, Cities and Towns" is labelled 15.2, indicating that previous versions—Title 15 and Title 15.1—were repealed in large part and replaced by 15.2. A list of titles appears at the beginning of each Code volume, including the names of repealed and replaced titles.³³

The period is also used to subdivide individual statute sections or to add new sections. This mark looks like a decimal, which frequently confuses researchers since section 50-73.8 precedes section 50-73.11. Both the Code of Virginia 1950, Annotated and West's Annotated Code of Virginia use this organizational structure in their publications.

Statutes are cited in the Code using only the title and section number, separated by a hyphen. For example, Title 15.2 of the Code of Virginia covers "Counties, Cities and Towns." Subtitle II, Chapter 17 within that title covers "Police and Public Order," which includes sections 1700 through 1753. In legal citation, a reference to "Va. Code § 15.2-1731(A)" is to section 1731, subsection A, within Title 15.2.

C. Acts Not Included in the Code. Traditionally, the codes published for practitioners only include provisions passed by the General Assembly that have a "public and permanent nature."³⁴ The General Assembly often passes acts that accomplish single tasks or have a short duration, for example, requesting a study from a state agency, honoring an individual, or naming a public road or monument. These "laws of a local and private nature" are not included in the Code. This also includes yearly budget bills, as well as the language of constitutional amendments that the legislature must pass to send referendums to the public.³⁵ A compilation of Uncodified Acts is made available on the LIS website. The LIS lists uncodified acts from 1946 to the present, with links to full text of acts from 1994 to present.³⁶

D. Amendments and Prior Codifications. There are two types of historical notes that may be listed at the end of the text of a statute, identifying: (1) where the statute appeared in a previous codification and (2) the enactment and subsequent amendments made by the General Assembly. References to codifications prior to 1950 are given by date of revision and section number, for example: Code 1919, § 5.³⁷ References to amendments made after 1950 are referred to by the year and chapter of the Acts of the General Assembly in which the amendment appears, for example: 1997, c. 406.³⁸

The Code of Virginia 1950, Annotated (LexisNexis), contains references to both prior codifications and amendments. West's Annotated Code of Virginia provides authority references in a similar format, but only from 1950 to present.

E. Exact Language. When the precise language of the statute is important, the legal researcher should confirm the exact language by checking the Acts of the General Assembly. For most purposes, however, the Code language is commonly accepted by Virginia's trial courts.

Each Code section is prefaced by a boldface title called a "headline" describing the essential contents of the section. These headlines may be helpful in locating Code sections; however, the researcher must rely only on the actual language contained in the body of the text as headlines do not constitute part of the acts of the General Assembly.³⁹ While a headline is not a title, it occupies a closely related position and contains catchwords which are intended to indicate the contents of the section.⁴⁰

F. Updating. Annual supplements to each volume of the Code are produced before July 1 of each year. The supplements incorporate enactments of each year's General Assembly session. Replacement volumes are issued when the annual supplement for a particular volume becomes too cumbersome.

In addition, the Code of Virginia 1950, Annotated is further supplemented by the Advance Code Service. These cumulative pamphlets update the annual pocket parts with new case annotations and editorial changes. An additional updating tool is the Advance Legislative Service, which is a series of pamphlets published during the spring of each year that contain the enrolled bills passed by the General Assembly. The Advance Court Rules and Procedures pamphlet updates the "Rules" volume of the Code.

West's Annotated Code of Virginia (Thomson Reuters) is also supplemented by annual pocket parts and by the Interim Annotation Service. The semiannual Interim service updates the pocket parts with recent case annotations to the Code and Virginia Constitution. West's Virginia Legislative Service, a series of pamphlets issued during and immediately following each session of the General Assembly, contains the enrolled bills along with editorial headings describing the subject matter.

A prudent researcher will never discard superseded volumes and supplements but should be certain they are clearly marked and separated from the current set.

G. Additional Materials. The Code of Virginia 1950, Annotated also includes the complete text of several other primary sources of law. This includes the full text of the Constitution of the United States of America, the Constitution of Virginia, Legal Ethics Opinions, Unauthorized Practice of Law Opinions, and Compacts. It also includes tables that allow a researcher to track a statute across codifications or repeals.⁴¹ Note that copies of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia have been included in Volume 11 of the Code of Virginia 1950, Annotated since 1984. Between 1957 and 1984, the rules were appended to the end of Volume 2 as an accompaniment to Title 8.01 (Civil Remedies and Procedures).⁴²

West's Annotated Code of Virginia includes the text of the United States and Virginia Constitutions, as well as selected Disposition Tables.

3.302 Previous Codifications and Statutory Compilations. In almost four centuries during which the colonial House of Burgesses and the General Assembly have passed legislation, there have been several cumulative publications of Virginia statutes. A legal researcher often must consult previous publications to learn the history of a specific statute.

The laws of Virginia have been revised and codified only five times; the Codes of 1819, 1849...