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HJ8 • 2026

15th Judicial Circuit; Judicial Council of Virginia to study organization and boundaries.

<p class=ldtitle>Requesting the Judicial Council of Virginia to study the organization and boundaries of the 15th Judicial Circuit. Report.</p>

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Cole, J.G.
Last action
2026-02-18
Official status
Failed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not explicitly mention that people living in these counties are affected, though they may be indirectly impacted by any changes to judicial boundaries.

Study the 15th Judicial Circuit

This bill asks the Judicial Council of Virginia to study if the City of Fredericksburg and Stafford and Spotsylvania Counties should be moved out of the current 15th Judicial Circuit.

What This Bill Does

  • Asks the Judicial Council of Virginia to look at how the 15th Judicial Circuit is set up now.
  • Tells the council to check if moving Fredericksburg, Stafford County, and Spotsylvania County out of the circuit would be better.
  • Requires the council to review population growth, caseloads, and travel times for judges in these areas.
  • Says the council must give a report with their findings by November 30, 2026.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Judicial Council of Virginia
  • Circuit court judges in the 15th Judicial Circuit

Terms To Know

Judicial Council of Virginia
A group that helps make decisions about how courts work in Virginia.
Caseloads
The number of cases a judge or court has to handle.

Limits and Unknowns

  • It does not say what will happen after the report is made.
  • Does not specify how the council should make their decision about moving areas out of the circuit.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-18 House

    Left in Rules

  2. 2026-01-23 Studies Subcommittee

    Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (5-Y 0-N)

  3. 2026-01-22 Studies Subcommittee

    Assigned HRUL sub: Studies Subcommittee

  4. 2026-01-01 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101473D

  5. 2026-01-01 Rules

    Referred to Committee on Rules

Official Summary Text

Study; Judicial Council of Virginia; boundary of the 15th Judicial Circuit; report.
Requests the Judicial Council of Virginia to study the current boundary of the 15th Judicial Circuit and determine if the City of Fredericksburg and Stafford and Spotsylvania Counties should be removed from the current judicial circuit boundary lines and a new judicial circuit composed of those localities established.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Requesting the Judicial Council of Virginia to study the organization and boundaries of the 15th Judicial Circuit. Report.

WHEREAS, the 15th Judicial Circuit is a geographically large judicial circuit in the Commonwealth and includes the City of Fredericksburg and Caroline, Essex, Hanover, King George, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Westmoreland Counties; and

WHEREAS, the boundary lines of the 15th Judicial Circuit were established in 1973 following a recommendation to restructure the courts of record, and no adjustments have been made to the 15th Judicial Circuit boundary lines since that time; and

WHEREAS, following the introduction of two bills providing for a realignment of the judicial circuits in 2011, the Supreme Court of Virginia was requested to conduct a study on the judicial boundaries proposed within the bills, with the intent that the members of the General Assembly would review any recommendations or analysis provided by the Supreme Court prior to any legislative action being taken to realign the boundaries of the judicial circuits; and

WHEREAS, in the 2011 judicial boundary realignment study conducted by the study committee convened by the Supreme Court of Virginia, the committee reported population growth as a significant factor in determining what boundaries would best serve the Commonwealth in the future, and the report specified that Stafford and Spotsylvania Counties were two of the five fastest-growing counties in terms of population, experiencing 424.5 percent and 645.2 percent growth, respectively; and

WHEREAS, for such study, judges and clerks were surveyed as to the most important factors in determining judicial boundary lines, and both judges and clerks agreed that the number of new cases per judge, the number of hearings per judge, and the travel time between courthouses were the top three most important factors, with judges reportedly considering total time spent on the bench and the geography of the circuit the fourth and fifth most important factors to consider; and

WHEREAS, between 1980 and 2010 the 15th Judicial Circuit saw the greatest increase in caseloads of all circuits in the Commonwealth, and current caseload data has continued to demonstrate large caseloads in certain localities overseen by the judges in the 15th Judicial Circuit; and

WHEREAS, the Study Committee emphasized in the 2011 report that weighted caseload data would be critical in determining judicial boundary lines that provide for the most efficient allocation of judicial resources, and the National Center for State Courts has since conducted three weighted caseload studies and submitted corresponding reports to the General Assembly; and

WHEREAS, the City of Fredericksburg and Stafford and Spotsylvania Counties have continued to experience population growth along with increases in businesses and infrastructure, leading to busier dockets in these localities and creating additional challenges when assigning dockets to ensure adequate coverage of caseloads, but also resulting in sitting judges needing to travel significant distances between their residences and courthouses or between multiple courthouses on a single day where dockets must be heard in different locations; and

WHEREAS, it is necessary for the Judicial Council of Virginia to periodically conduct studies to ensure that the boundaries of the judicial circuits in the Commonwealth are drawn to efficiently and fairly distribute judicial resources and provide the citizens of the cities and counties within a circuit meaningful access to the courts: and

WHEREAS, subsection B of §
17.1-507
of the Code of Virginia requires the Judicial Council to conduct a study before any boundary lines are amended by the General Assembly; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Judicial Council of Virginia be requested to study the organization and boundaries of the 15th Judicial Circuit.

In conducting its study, the Judicial Council of Virginia (the Council) shall (i) review current caseload data, population data, other relevant data, and all calculations and recommendations provided in the three judicial workload studies conducted by the National Center for State Courts and submitted to the General Assembly to assess caseloads for localities within the 15th Judicial Circuit and evaluate judicial need in each of the localities within the circuit; (ii) evaluate current court management practices and judicial court assignments and provide an analysis of the impact of such practices and assignments on the overall efficiency of the courts and judges; (iii) consider the geography of the circuit and time spent traveling between courthouses within the 15th Judicial Circuit and identify any impacts on judges or court participants due to the size of the circuit; (iv) analyze the composition of localities currently included in the 15th Judicial Circuit as compared to other circuits in the Commonwealth to determine whether the 15th Circuit is an outlier in having multiple localities with significant population growth and higher caseloads paired with more rural localities and lower caseloads; and (v) determine if the citizens of the 15th Judicial Circuit would be better served by removing the City of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania and Stafford Counties from the current boundary lines of the 15th Judicial Circuit and establishing a new judicial circuit composed of those localities. If the removal of the City of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania and Stafford Counties from the current boundary lines of the 15th Judicial Circuit and establishment of a new judicial circuit composed of those localities is not recommended, the Council shall provide suggestions to ease burdens on judges in the 15th Judicial Circuit and specify any additional resources or support that the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia may be able to provide.

Technical assistance shall be provided to the Council by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Council for this study, upon request. The Council shall further solicit input from the circuit court judges of the 15th Judicial Circuit, court clerks employed in courthouses located within the 15th Judicial Circuit, and attorneys who regularly appear as counsel in cases heard in circuit courts of the 15th Judicial Circuit.

The Council shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2026, and shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an executive summary and a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports no later than the first day of the 2027 Regular Session of the General Assembly and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.