District and circuit courts; increases court fees. (SB329)
Introduced By
Sen. Richard Stuart (R-Westmoreland)
Progress
√ |
Introduced |
X |
Passed Committee |
☐ |
Passed House |
√ |
Passed Senate |
☐ |
Signed by Governor |
☐ |
Became Law |
Description
Court fees. Increases the court fees in both district and circuit court from (i) $27 to $75 in a district court civil action and (ii) the current scale of $60-$160 to $500-$1,000 in civil actions in circuit court. The fee increases under this bill in district court are allocated to the sheriffs' departments, and the increases in circuit court are split between the sheriffs' (80%) and the clerks' (20%) offices to be used exclusively for achieving the current staffing standards of the two constitutional offices. The $10 fee for the Courts Technology Fund is removed from civil cases. The Fund still receives fees applicable to other filings in the circuit and appellate courts. View Full Text »
Outcome
Bill Has Failed
View Bill's History
Comments
This bill will block the average person from having access to our court system. The Sheriff's need to find another way to maintain staffing. Let's look at deporting all of the illegals that are crowding our jails and courts, then we could manage with our current staffing. Sheriff's need to use the curent laws and authority that they have to save us some money. This will be like a tax on decent hard working Virginian's. It is another example of our government/Sheriff's taking the easy way out to collect money from people that have done nothing wrong.
It makes no sense to increase fees for CIVIL cases so that CRIMINAL resources can be increased.
The point about illegals who are crowding our jails and courts is something of a red herring; in most of the larger jurisdictions (where the number of illegal immigrants is greatest), jails are not run by the local sheriffs anymore.
This is part of the desperate attempt to keep from raising the income tax as Governor Kaine had suggested.
We ought to be questioning why we still have the office of sheriff in larger or more sophisticated communities where law enforcement is in the hands of a police department.
Charlottesville and Albemarle are examples.
More modern states did away with the office of sheriff entirely. Outside of rural areas, it's a costly, unnecessary political post staffed with people whose work could be done by a less costly division of the police department, or outsourced to a private firm by competitive contract.
Our political process makes it all but impossible for someone expecting to be re-elected to introduce or support a bill that removes a traditional office, no matter how antiquated and useless the office. All so-called constitutional offices have statewide pressure groups to assure their existence by crushing any opponents.
Oh, if only Virginians had the three basic rights of other Americans: initiative referendum, recall. But that's only found where people are respected.