Southampton County

Southampton County follows Virginia law on arrests, release, and courts. These rules are the same in every county in the state; the full set covers prosecutors, defense, and jails too.

Who decides release first

A magistrate decides bail first. Magistrates are court officers, not judges, and need not be lawyers. The law presumes release unless the magistrate finds the person likely to flee or dangerous.

Va. Code 19.2-119Va. Code 19.2-120Va. Code 19.2-37

Time to see a judge

Police must bring a person arrested without a warrant "forthwith" before a magistrate. The law sets no number of hours.

Va. Code 19.2-82

Money bail

Magistrates and judges may set secured money bonds. Virginia repealed its presumptions against bail for listed offenses in 2021 and now presumes release.

Va. Code 19.2-120

Courts

Circuit courts try felonies and hear misdemeanor appeals. General district courts hear misdemeanors and traffic cases and hold preliminary hearings in felony cases. Juvenile and domestic relations district courts hear cases involving minors and family members.

Virginia's Judicial System, General District Court

Judges and magistrates

The General Assembly elects circuit judges for eight-year terms and district judges for six-year terms; all must be lawyers. Magistrates are not judges. The Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia appoints them after consulting the chief circuit judges, and magistrates appointed since July 1, 2008 need a bachelor's degree, not a law degree.

Va. Const. art. VI, sec. 7Va. Code 16.1-69.9Va. Code 16.1-69.15Va. Code 19.2-35Va. Code 19.2-37

Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. Virginia's independent cities stand in for counties: each elects its own Commonwealth's attorney and sheriff. Whether every locality has a pretrial services agency was not confirmed.

Pretrial practice

Virginia's DCJS lists community corrections here (Fifth Judicial District Community Corrections Program) but no local pretrial services agency.

Virginia DCJS, Community-Based Probation and Pretrial Services Agency Directory, locality cross reference (December 2025)

• Southampton County Sheriff's OfficeCounty17,987 served
• VA0870200City1,285 served
• VA0870300City509 served
• State Police: Southampton CountyState Police

Agencies: FBI NIBRS master file 2025 batch headers; names from the FBI agency list, pulled 2026-09-29. An agency that serves several counties appears on each. Population served is the FBI's figure.