Butler v. Commonwealth

In this appeal, we decide whether a defendant was entitled to a continuance of his trial when the jury panel had to be reconstituted and the defendant’s attorney did not receive the new jury panel list forty-eight hours prior to trial in accordance with the provisions of Code § 8.01-353. Because we conclude that the requirements of that statute are directory rather than mandatory and that the defendant suffered no specific prejudice, we will affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the circuit court’s refusal to grant the defendant’s motion for a continuance.

I. FACTS AND…