19.2-71 - Who may issue process of arrest. - Virginia Statutes

§ 19.2-71. Who may issue process of arrest.

A. Process for the arrest of a person charged with a criminal offense may beissued by the judge, or clerk of any circuit court, any general districtcourt, any juvenile and domestic relations district court, or any magistrateas provided for in Chapter 3 (§ 19.2-26 et seq.) of this title. However, nomagistrate may issue an arrest warrant for a felony offense upon the basis ofa complaint by a person other than a law-enforcement officer or an animalcontrol officer without prior consultation by the magistrate with theattorney for the Commonwealth or, if no attorney for the Commonwealth isavailable, without prior consultation with a law-enforcement agency havingjurisdiction over the alleged offense.

B. No law-enforcement officer shall seek issuance of process by any judicialofficer, for the arrest of a person for the offense of capital murder asdefined in § 18.2-31, without prior authorization by the attorney for theCommonwealth. Failure to comply with the provisions of this subsection shallnot be (i) a basis upon which a warrant may be quashed or deemed invalid,(ii) deemed error upon which a conviction or sentence may be reversed orvacated, or (iii) a basis upon which a court may prevent or delay executionof sentence.

(Code 1950, § 19.1-90; 1960, c. 366; 1975, c. 495; 1999, c. 266; 2002, c.310; 2009, cc. 291, 344; 2010, c. 240.)