Virginia Beach Court Information, Location and Rules

The Virginia Beach Court system comprises different courts offering judicial services to the population living in the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The city is served by the Virginia Beach Circuit Court, Virginia Beach General District Court and Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. Each of these courts has specific jurisdictions; in some cases the courts have concurrent jurisdiction as well. For information on the courts operating in Virginia Beach you can visit their website at http://www.vbgov.com/vgn.aspx?dept_list=d47c7e192ca49010VgnVCM100000870b640aRCRD.

Virginia Beach Circuit Court

Virginia Beach Circuit Court has general jurisdiction and hears trial cases related to both civil and criminal matters. Criminal cases brought to this court include all felony charges as well as misdemeanor cases. It can also hear and decide on cases involving divorce suits and adoptions. Appeals in both civil and criminal matters from Virginia Beach General District Court and Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court are also handled at the Circuit Court of Virginia Beach. Contact information for the Virginia Beach Circuit Court is:

2425 Nimmo Pkwy
Judicial Center, Bldg. 10
Virginia Beach, VA  23456
(757) 385-4501

The different cases taken up at Virginia Beach Circuit Court follow a particular procedure. To know the details of these procedures as well as to access the online documents necessary for filing a case you need to visit the following websites:

Civil Case Program: http://www.vbgov.com/vgn.aspx?vgnextoid=30ce56244aafd010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextchannel=ba10476215ced010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default

Criminal Cases: http://www.vbgov.com/vgn.aspx?vgnextoid=b9bf4ce643afd010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextchannel=ba10476215ced010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default

Name Change (both in case of adults and minors): http://www.vbgov.com/vgn.aspx?vgnextoid=498d964c2b04c010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextchannel=ba10476215ced010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default

Divorce Proceedings (Contested): http://www.vbgov.com/vgn.aspx?vgnextoid=247c922cd4afd010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextchannel=97b4e81812f9e010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default

Divorce Proceedings (Uncontested): http://www.vbgov.com/vgn.aspx?vgnextoid=a151964c2b04c010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextchannel=ba10476215ced010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default

Annulment: http://www.vbgov.com/vgn.aspx?vgnextoid=4893a31ee52cd010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextchannel=ba10476215ced010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default

All the related documents for each type of case can be found on the right side of the webpage under the ‘Related Documents’ section. The Court Forms are available at http://www.vbgov.com/vgn.aspx?vgnextchannel=65b2a478da9fd010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextparchannel=d47c7e192ca49010VgnVCM100000870b640aRCRD.

Virginia Beach General District Court

The Virginia Beach General District Court has jurisdiction over a number of case types, according to the Virginia Codes. These are as follows:

•    Civil cases – The court has exclusive original jurisdiction over cases that involve an amount of dispute less than $4,500 and concurrent jurisdiction with the Virginia Beach Circuit Court over cases where the amount is between $4,500 and $15,000.
•    Criminal cases – All misdemeanor cases and the preliminary hearings of all felony charges are heard here.
•    Bond hearings
•    Traffic violation offenses

The names of the 7 judges serving Virginia Beach General District Court are:

Gene A Woolard, Chief Judge
Calvin R. Depew, Jr.
Virginia L. Cochran
Teresa N. McCrimmon
Robert L. Simpson, Jr.
Steven C. Frucci
Pamela E. Hutchens

You can contact the different divisions working under Virginia Beach General District Court at the following phone and fax numbers:

Director of Finances
Myrna Carroll    
(757) 385-8470    
(757) 385-6381

Clerk of Court
Andre Mayfield    
(757) 385-8375    
(757) 385-5672

Civil Division Manager
Shelby Duell    
(757) 385-4277    
(757) 385-5682

Criminal Division Manager
Monika Johnson    
(757) 385-4707    
(757) 385-1065

Judge's Office    
(757) 385-8783    
(757) 385-5672

Traffic Division Manager
Dawn Daniel    
(757) 385-8619    
(757) 385-1063

Virginia Beach Court Record Search

You cannot conduct a record check on an individual from the Virginia Beach General District Court case records. For this you need to contact the Virginia Beach Police Department at (757) 385-4331. However, you can get a certified copy of a trial disposition of a Virginia Beach court case. For this you need to pay a fee of $2.00 for each case. An additional fifty cents is charged if you want other documents related to the case as well. You can get a copy of the Case Management Screen from the General District Court of Virginia Beach. The charge is fifty cents. Only money orders and checks payable to Virginia Beach General District Court are accepted by the court.

Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court has the authority to hear and decide cases related to the following matters:

•    Delinquents
•    Children who need services
•    Juveniles charged with traffic violations
•    Children who have been victims of abuse or neglect
•    Children who require supervision
•    Family or household members who have been victims of abuse
•    Adults involved in disputes over the custody, support, parentage or visitation of a child
•    Adults charged with child abuse or neglect, or with offenses against members of their own family, both adult and juvenile ones
•    Agreements involving foster care and entrustment
•    Court consent for particular medical treatments
•    Desertion of children
•    Rehabilitation services (Court-ordered)

The 7 judges who work for Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court are:

Winship C. Tower, Chief Judge
Deborah M. Paxson
Deborah L. Rawls
Deborah Vatidis Bryan
Gerrit W. Benson
Ramona D. Taylor
Randall M. Blow

A court service unit functions as an aid to Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. The responsibilities of this unit include the following:

Intake: The unit reviews all complaints filed and decides whether a petition needs to be filed. If a petition is not filed, adjustments and agreements are reached. If the filing of petition becomes necessary, the case is taken to a judge.

Investigation: It examines all details of the background of the offender, like the social and educational background of a juvenile.

Probation: The responsibility involves supervision of adults, delinquent children and juveniles who have been released on probation.

After-care: After the juveniles have been released from the institutional care of the state, they need to be monitored continuously. This is done by the unit.

Domestic Care: It is in charge of caring for detained juveniles as well as the children who need shelter.

Virginia Beach Court Cases Online

If you want to know about Virginia Beach Court cases online, you can visit the Automated Information System. For this you need to go to http://epwsgdp1.courts.state.va.us/gdcourts/caseSearch.do?index=index. This gives you information about cases filed at the General District Court of Virginia Beach. The search types that can be used are name, hearing date or case number. The name of an individual or the case number must be used to search for the services. The case number is essential to get information about the reports due.

You can also pay a court fine using the same webpage. All you need to do is fill in your full name and select a court name, and you can pay your fine online.