Circuit Court Alert:
The Criminal Division of the Fairfax Circuit Court is located on the fourth floor of the Fairfax County Courthouse at 4110 Chain Bridge Road in Suite 409. The Division is open between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Telephone 703-691-7320 (press 3, then 2) (TTY 711).
The Criminal Division is responsible for the indexing, processing and maintaining of all Felony and Misdemeanor Criminal and Traffic Appeal cases. In all of these cases, the Commonwealth of Virginia is the Complainant. The person charged with the offense is the Defendant.
Felony cases may include (but are not limited to):
Misdemeanor Criminal Appeals may include (but are not limited to):
Misdemeanor Traffic Appeals may include (but are not limited to):
These cases originate in the General District Court and the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court and are brought to Circuit Court by way of the Grand Jury (for Felony Cases) and by Appeal of the Defendant (for Misdemeanor cases).
If convicted of a Felony or Misdemeanor offense in the Fairfax Circuit Court, costs will be assessed against the defendant as well as any court imposed fine. All costs are assessed pursuant to the Code of Virginia. Fines and/or costs are expected to be paid at the time of conviction unless a payment plan is established. The Criminal Division does accept personal checks, Visa, MasterCard and cash. All costs and/or fines that are not promptly paid will be subject to the following:
Note: For information on the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles' change in process regarding the suspension of driving privileges for Court fines and costs, please call (804) 474-2255.
Any request for a subpoena in a Felony or Misdemeanor appeal should be delivered to the Criminal Division. There is no cost for a witness subpoena. If you are requesting a subpoena duces tecum, the fee is $5.00 and should be paid at the time of filing the request.
Requests for Copies:
Copies of filings or orders in a Felony or Misdemeanor appeal case may be requested in person or in writing. Certain items contained in the file may not be copied. You will be informed of those items that cannot be copied. When requesting copies in person, you may review the file in the Criminal Division and paperclip any pages that you want to have copied. The fee is $0.50 cents per page and an additional $2.00 if you want the copy certified. The Criminal Division can copy up to 10 pages immediately. Any requests over 10 pages will not be done immediately. Requests received in writing will be responded to within 2 business days. Fees for copying must be paid in advance and a self-addressed, stamped return envelope must be provided.
Processing Orders:
Upon entry of a order by a Circuit Court Judge, the Felony or Misdemeanor appeal file is sent to the Criminal Division to process the order. Processing the order includes sending copies of the order to the appropriate agency and or party. Also, all felony cases and some misdemeanor appeals have fingerprint cards that must be processed to the FBI and the State Police department so a criminal record will be created or updated. The Criminal Division is responsible for completing these forms and forwarding them to those agencies.
Many persons who come before the courts are partially or completely excluded from full participation in the proceedings due to limited English proficiency or a speech or hearing impairment. It is essential that the resulting communication barrier be removed, as far as possible, so that these persons are placed in the same position as similarly situated persons for whom there is no such barrier