HB958: Citizenship of arrestee; if accused is not committed to jail, arresting officer to ascertain.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That § 19.2-119 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 19.2-119. Definitions.

As used in this chapter:

"Bail" means the pretrial release of a person from custody upon those terms and conditions specified by order of an appropriate judicial officer.

"Bond" means the posting by a person or his surety of a written promise to pay a specific sum, secured or unsecured, ordered by an appropriate judicial officer as a condition of bail to assure performance of the terms and conditions contained in the recognizance.

"Criminal history" means records and data collected by criminal justice agencies or persons consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, informations or other formal charges, and any deposition arising therefrom, and includes, where possible, any information regarding outstanding warrants for criminal violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) that is available through the Virginia Criminal Information Network maintained by the Department of State Police or the National Crime Information Center maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"Judicial officer" means, unless otherwise indicated, any magistrate serving the jurisdiction, any judge of a district court and the clerk or deputy clerk of any district court or circuit court within their respective cities and counties, any judge of a circuit court, any judge of the Court of Appeals and any justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia.

"Person" means any accused, or any juvenile taken into custody pursuant to § 16.1-246.

"Recognizance" means a signed commitment by a person to appear in court as directed and to adhere to any other terms ordered by an appropriate judicial officer as a condition of bail.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That §§ 19.2-80 and 19.2-82 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 19.2-80. Duty of arresting officer; bail.

In any case in which an officer does not issue a summons pursuant to § 19.2-74 or § 46.2-936, a law-enforcement officer making an arrest under a warrant or capias shall bring the arrested person without unnecessary delay before a judicial officer. The judicial officer shall immediately conduct a bail hearing and either admit the accused to bail or commit him to jail. However, if (i) the accused is charged with a misdemeanor and is brought before a judge of the court having jurisdiction to try the case and (ii) both the accused and the Commonwealth consent, the judge may proceed to trial instead of conducting a bail hearing.

If the accused is not committed to jail, the arresting officer shall, prior to the person's release, make the inquiries and follow the procedures described in § 19.2-83.2.

§ 19.2-82. Procedure upon arrest without warrant.

A. A person arrested without a warrant shall be brought forthwith before a magistrate or other issuing authority having jurisdiction who shall proceed to examine the officer making the arrest under oath. If the magistrate or other issuing authority having jurisdiction has lawful probable cause upon which to believe that a criminal offense has been committed, and that the person arrested has committed such offense, he shall issue either a warrant under the provisions of § 19.2-72 or a summons under the provisions of § 19.2-73.

As used in this section the term "brought before a magistrate or other issuing authority having jurisdiction" shall include a personal appearance before such authority or any two-way electronic video and audio communication meeting the requirements of § 19.2-3.1, in order that the accused and the arresting officer may simultaneously see and speak to such magistrate or authority. If electronic means are used, any documents filed may be transmitted in accordance with § 19.2-3.1.

If a warrant is issued the case shall thereafter be disposed of under the provisions of §§ 19.2-183 through 19.2-190, if the issuing officer is a judge; under the provisions of §§ 19.2-119 through 19.2-134, if the issuing officer is a magistrate or other issuing officer having jurisdiction.

If such warrant or summons is not issued, the person so arrested shall be released.

If a summons is issued, or a warrant is issued and the person is not committed to jail, the arresting officer shall, prior to the person's release, make the inquiries and follow the procedures described in § 19.2-83.2.

B. A warrant may be issued pursuant to this section, where the person has been arrested in accordance with § 19.2-81.6, and the magistrate or other issuing authority examines the officer making the arrest under oath, and finds lawful probable cause to believe the arrested individual meets the conditions of clauses (i) and (ii) of § 19.2-81.6. If such warrant is issued, it shall recite § 19.2-81.6 and the applicable violation of federal criminal law previously confirmed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Upon the person being taken into federal custody, such state warrant shall be dismissed. Any warrant issued under this subsection shall expire within 72 hours, or when the person is taken into federal custody, whichever occurs first. Recurrent applications for a warrant under this subsection shall not be permitted within a six-month period except where confirmation has been received from Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the arrested person will be taken into federal custody.