Virginia legal term
Criminal history in Virginia Criminal Law
Current through 2026 Virginia legislative session
In Virginia criminal law, “Criminal history” is a term defined by statute rather than by its everyday meaning. Its statutory definition — quoted verbatim below — controls how the term is applied throughout the Virginia criminal code.
What does “Criminal history” mean in Virginia criminal law?
"Criminal history" means records and data collected by criminal justice agencies or persons consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, informations or other formal charges, and any deposition arising therefrom. (Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-119)
Statutes defining or using this term
Charges using this term
- Possession or transportation of firearms, firearms ammunition, stun weapons, explosives or concealed weapons by convicted felons
- Purchase, possession, or transportation of firearm by persons adjudicated legally incompetent or mentally incapacitated
- Purchase, possession, or transportation of firearm by persons involuntarily admitted or ordered to outpatient treatment
- Purchase, possession, or transportation of firearms by persons acquitted by reason of insanity
- Sentencing proceeding by the jury after conviction
Related terms in the same statutes
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.