Commonwealth's Attorney.
Elected by the people at the general election in November for a term of four years; must reside in the county or corporation for which he is elected; shall hold no other elective office. Salary, allowance by the Board of Supervisors and fees.
Duties. Gives legal advice to the county and district officers, and prosecutes criminals in the Circuit and Corporation Courts.
For Board of Supervisors, see page 82.
LEGAL ADVICE is advice on matters of law. The commonwealth's attorney prosecutes criminals—that is, he attends in court and makes the charge, or states the case, and examines witnesses, against persons charged with crime.
A WITNESS is a person who tells on oath, in answer to questions, what he knows about the crime charged against the accused, or about the facts in a civil case or process. (See civil process and perjury, page 21.)
Attorney-at-Law.
Must hold license granted by any three or more judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals acting together under such rules and regulations and upon such examination both as to learning and character as may be prescribed by the said Court; must be a male citizen over the age of twenty-one years; must have resided in the State six months preceding application for a license; and must qualify before the Court in which he proposes to practice.
An ATTORNEY-AT-LAW is a person legally qualified and licensed to act as attorney. A person not a lawyer might be called an attorney if appointed to do any business on behalf of another, but to be an attorney-at law a person must be qualified as stated in the text. (See under Attorney-General, page 29.) A LICENSE is a permission to perform certain acts. It is usually in writing, and is issued by persons having legal authority to do so.
An attorney-at-law must QUALIFY before the court in which he wishes to practice. This means that he must produce evidence that he is legally licensed, that he must take an oath that he will perform his duties as an attorney, and also that he must take an oath that he will be faithful to the Commonwealth of Virginia.