The Circuit Court has jurisdiction over both original cases and appeals in criminal and civil cases. The Clerk of the Circuit Court is a constitutional officer elected to an eight-year term. The Commonwealth's Attorney's office handles only the prosecution of criminal cases which are felonies and serious misdemeanors. Employees of this office are not allowed to talk to the person charged with the crime or their families. The County Attorney's Office provides full-time legal services for the Board of Supervisors and all County administrative offices and departments.
All legal work is civil in nature.
No private representation is provided by this office. The traffic division handles all traffic matters from minor equipment violations to hit and run cases. The criminal division handles all criminal matters from dogs running at large to preliminary hearings in capital cases. This includes debts, unpaid rent, contracts and personal injury. Back to Top Jurors are selected from the Voter Registration and the Department of Motor Vehicles at random for each court term.