Rickman v. Commonwealth

PRESENT: All the Justices JOSEPH BOYD RICKMAN OPINION BY v. Record No. 161489 JUSTICE D. ARTHUR KELSEY December 28, 2017 COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF CHESTERFIELD COUNTY David E. Johnson, Judge Joseph Boyd Rickman appeals a civil-commitment order entered pursuant to the Sexually Violent Predators Act, Code §§ 37.2-900 to -921 (“SVPA”). He claims that the circuit court’s violation of a scheduling deadline for the initial probable-cause hearing required the circuit court to dismiss with prejudice the SVPA petition. We hold that this statutory procedural requirement, even…