Duty of court when accused appears without counsel

Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-157
in effect
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Except as may otherwise be provided in §§ 16.1-266 through 16.1-268 , whenever a person charged with a criminal offense the penalty for which may be confinement in the state correctional facility or jail, including charges for revocation of suspension of imposition or execution of sentence or probation, appears before any court without being represented by counsel, the court shall inform him of his right to counsel. The accused shall be allowed a reasonable opportunity to employ counsel or, if appropriate, the statement of indigence provided for in § 19.2-159 may be executed. Code 1950, §§ 19.1-241.1, 19.1-241.7; 1964, c. 657; 1966, c. 460; 1973, c. 316; 1975, c. 495; 1978, c. 362; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 344 , 345 .
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/19.2-157/Fetched: 10/16/2026
Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-157 — Duty of court when accused appears without counsel | Code of Virginia (Aug. 2026 snapshot) | Corpus