Virginia statute
Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-265.4 — Failure to provide discovery
Current through 2026 Regular Session
Part of Article 5: Miscellaneous Provisions, Code of Virginia.
Full text of Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-265.4
Statutory text current through the 2026 Regular Session. This publication reproduces the text of the Code of Virginia from the official Virginia Law Portal API published by the Virginia General Assembly's Division of Legislative Automated Systems; it is not the official Code of Virginia.
A. In any criminal prosecution for a felony in a circuit court or for a misdemeanor brought on direct indictment, the attorney for the Commonwealth shall have a duty to adequately and fully provide discovery as provided under Rule 3A:11 of the Rules of the Supreme Court. Rule 3A:11 shall be construed to apply to such felony and misdemeanor prosecutions. This duty to disclose shall be continuing and shall apply to any additional evidence or material discovered by the Commonwealth prior to or during trial that is subject to discovery or inspection and has been previously requested by the accused. In any criminal prosecution for a misdemeanor by trial de novo in circuit court, the attorney for the Commonwealth shall have a duty to adequately and fully provide discovery as provided under Rule 7C:5 of the Rules of the Supreme Court. If an order for discovery is entered for such criminal prosecution pursuant to Rule 3A:11, the accused may request to copy or photograph any discovery materials or evidence that the accused is permitted to inspect and review, including relevant police reports, criminal records, dashboard camera footage, and body-worn camera footage as described in § 15.2-1723.1 . Upon such request, the attorney for the Commonwealth shall provide to the counsel of record for the accused copies of such discovery materials, subject to the redaction, restricted dissemination, and protective orders provisions of Rule 3A:11.
B. If at any time during the course of the proceedings it is brought to the attention of the court that the attorney for the Commonwealth has failed to comply with this section, the court may order the Commonwealth to permit the discovery or inspection, grant a continuance, or prohibit the Commonwealth from introducing evidence not disclosed, or the court may enter such other order as it deems just under the circumstances.
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