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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>351329</law_id><section_number>19.2-163.04</section_number><catch_line>Public defender offices</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2026/" slug="2026" current="TRUE" last_updated="2026-08-02">2026</edition><referred_to_by><reference>19.2-163.3</reference><reference>19.2-163.4</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="54" identifier="19.2">Criminal Procedure</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="13" identifier="10">Disability of Judge or Attorney for Commonwealth; Court- Appointed Counsel; Interpreters; Transcripts</unit><unit label="article" level="3" order_by="2" identifier="3.1">Indigent Defense</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p><span class="dictionary">Public defender</span> offices are established in:</p><p>a. The City of Virginia Beach;</p><p>b. The City of Petersburg;</p><p>c. The Cities of Buena Vista, Lexington, Staunton, and Waynesboro and the Counties of Augusta and Rockbridge;</p><p>d. The City of Roanoke;</p><p>e. The City of Portsmouth;</p><p>f. The City of Richmond;</p><p>g. The Counties of Clarke, Frederick, Page, Shenandoah, and Warren, and the City of Winchester;</p><p>h. The City and County of Fairfax;</p><p>i. The City of Alexandria;</p><p>j. The City of Radford and the Counties of Bland, Pulaski, and Wythe;</p><p>k. The Counties of Fauquier, Loudoun, and Rappahannock;</p><p>l. The City of Suffolk;</p><p>m. The City of Franklin and the Counties of Isle of Wight and Southampton;</p><p>n. The County of Bedford;</p><p>o. The City of Danville;</p><p>p. The Counties of Halifax, Lunenburg, and Mecklenburg;</p><p>q. The City of Fredericksburg and the Counties of King George, Stafford, and Spotsylvania;</p><p>r. The City of Lynchburg;</p><p>s. The City of Martinsville and the Counties of Henry and Patrick;</p><p>t. The City of Charlottesville and the County of Albemarle;</p><p>u. The City of Norfolk;</p><p>v. The County of Arlington and the City of Falls Church;</p><p>w. The City of Newport News;</p><p>x. The City of Chesapeake;</p><p>y. The City of Hampton;</p><p>z. The Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park and the County of Prince William;</p><p>aa. The County of Chesterfield; and</p><p>ab. The City of Harrisonburg and the County of Rockingham.</p></section></text><history>2004, cc. 884, 921; 2004, Sp. Sess. I, c. 4, cl. 2; 2005, c. 951; 2006, Sp. Sess. I, c. 2; 2016, cc. 164, 312; 2020, cc. 348, 376; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 341; 2024, c. 313.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
