Commonwealth v. Carter

By

Judge Randy I. Bellows

This case presents a matter of first impression, requiring the interpretation of Virginia Code § 53.1-187, which guarantees that defendants are given jail credit for all time spent in a state or local correctional facility awaiting trial.

The question arises in the following factual circumstance: (1) a defendant is held in a local jail on felony charges; (2) a circuit court in a different county issues a capias for an alleged probation violation, which is lodged as a detainer at the local jail; (3) the commitment order accompanying the capias indicates that the…