19.2-123 - Release of accused on secured or unsecured bond or promise to appear; conditions of release.
§ 19.2-123. Release of accused on secured or unsecured bond or promise toappear; conditions of release.
A. Any person arrested for a felony who has previously been convicted of afelony, or who is presently on bond for an unrelated arrest in anyjurisdiction, or who is on probation or parole, may be released only upon asecure bond. This provision may be waived with the approval of the judicialofficer and with the concurrence of the attorney for the Commonwealth or theattorney for the county, city or town. Subject to the foregoing, when aperson is arrested for either a felony or a misdemeanor, any judicial officermay impose any one or any combination of the following conditions of release:
1. Place the person in the custody and supervision of a designated person,organization or pretrial services agency which, for the purposes of thissection, shall not include a court services unit established pursuant to §16.1-233;
2. Place restrictions on the travel, association or place of abode of theperson during the period of release and restrict contacts with householdmembers for a period not to exceed 72 hours;
2a. Require the execution of an unsecured bond;
3. Require the execution of a secure bond which at the option of the accusedshall be satisfied with sufficient solvent sureties, or the deposit of cashin lieu thereof. Only the actual value of any interest in real estate orpersonal property owned by the proposed surety shall be considered indetermining solvency and solvency shall be found if the value of the proposedsurety's equity in the real estate or personal property equals or exceeds theamount of the bond;
3a. Require that the person do any or all of the following: (i) maintainemployment or, if unemployed, actively seek employment; (ii) maintain orcommence an educational program; (iii) avoid all contact with an allegedvictim of the crime and with any potential witness who may testify concerningthe offense; (iv) comply with a specified curfew; (v) refrain from possessinga firearm, destructive device, or other dangerous weapon; (vi) refrain fromexcessive use of alcohol, or use of any illegal drug or any controlledsubstance not prescribed by a health care provider; and (vii) submit totesting for drugs and alcohol until the final disposition of his case;
3b. Place a prohibition on a person who holds an elected constitutionaloffice and who is accused of a felony arising from the performance of hisduties from physically returning to his constitutional office; or
4. Impose any other condition deemed reasonably necessary to assureappearance as required, and to assure his good behavior pending trial,including a condition requiring that the person return to custody afterspecified hours or be placed on home electronic incarceration pursuant to §53.1-131.2.
Upon satisfaction of the terms of recognizance, the accused shall be releasedforthwith.
In addition, where the accused is a resident of a state training center forthe mentally retarded, the judicial officer may place the person in thecustody of the director of the state facility, if the director agrees toaccept custody. Such director is hereby authorized to take custody of suchperson and to maintain him at the training center prior to a trial or hearingunder such circumstances as will reasonably assure the appearance of theaccused for the trial or hearing.
B. In any jurisdiction served by a pretrial services agency which offers adrug or alcohol screening or testing program approved for the purposes ofthis subsection by the chief general district court judge, any such personcharged with a crime may be requested by such agency to give voluntarily aurine sample, submit to a drug or alcohol screening, or take a breath testfor presence of alcohol. A sample may be analyzed for the presence ofphencyclidine (PCP), barbiturates, cocaine, opiates or such other drugs asthe agency may deem appropriate prior to any hearing to establish bail. Thejudicial officer and agency shall inform the accused or juvenile beingscreened or tested that test results shall be used by a judicial officer onlyat a bail hearing and only to determine appropriate conditions of release orto reconsider the conditions of bail at a subsequent hearing. All screeningor test results, and any pretrial investigation report containing thescreening or test results, shall be confidential with access thereto limitedto judicial officers, the attorney for the Commonwealth, defense counsel,other pretrial service agencies, any criminal justice agency as defined in §9.1-101 and, in cases where a juvenile is screened or tested, the parents orlegal guardian or custodian of such juvenile. However, in no event shall thejudicial officer have access to any screening or test result prior to makinga bail release determination or to determining the amount of bond, if any.Following this determination, the judicial officer shall consider thescreening or test results and the screening or testing agency's report andaccompanying recommendations, if any, in setting appropriate conditions ofrelease. In no event shall a decision regarding a release determination besubject to reversal on the sole basis of such screening or test results. Anyaccused or juvenile whose urine sample has tested positive for such drugs andwho is admitted to bail may, as a condition of release, be ordered to refrainfrom use of alcohol or illegal drugs and may be required to be tested on aperiodic basis until final disposition of his case to ensure his compliancewith the order. Sanctions for a violation of any condition of release, whichviolations shall include subsequent positive drug or alcohol test results orfailure to report as ordered for testing, may be imposed in the discretion ofthe judicial officer and may include imposition of more stringent conditionsof release, contempt of court proceedings or revocation of release. Any testgiven under the provisions of this subsection which yields a positive drug oralcohol test result shall be reconfirmed by a second test if the persontested denies or contests the initial drug or alcohol test positive result.The results of any drug or alcohol test conducted pursuant to this subsectionshall not be admissible in any judicial proceeding other than for theimposition of sanctions for a violation of a condition of release.
C. [Repealed.]
D. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent an officer taking ajuvenile into custody from releasing that juvenile pursuant to § 16.1-247. Ifany condition of release imposed under the provisions of this section isviolated, a judicial officer may issue a capias or order to show cause whythe recognizance should not be revoked.
E. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a court fromimposing a recognizance or bond designed to secure a spousal or child supportobligation pursuant to § 16.1-278.16, Chapter 5 (§ 20-61 et seq.) of Title20, or § 20-114 in addition to any recognizance or bond imposed pursuant tothis chapter.
(Code 1950, § 19.1-109.2; 1973, c. 485; 1975, c. 495; 1978, cc. 500, 755;1979, c. 518; 1981, c. 528; 1984, c. 707; 1989, c. 369; 1991, cc. 483, 512,581, 585; 1992, c. 576; 1993, c. 636; 1999, cc. 829, 846; 2000, cc. 885,1020, 1041; 2001, c. 201; 2006, c. 296; 2008, cc. 129, 884.)