Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

Something I have wondered about for quite some time:

Several years ago I appeared in court as the primary witness in a case of stalking (a neighbor of mine was charged with stalking me). He was found guilty and sentenced to jail time. This was in the General District Court in Fairfax County, Virginia. The case was presided over by a judge only (no jury).

Immediately after the case was complete, the Commonwealth Attorney informed me that there would be an appeal and that we would do the whole thing over. Which we did, the 2nd time around it was in the Circuit Court WITH a jury (although it was a small jury -- I've forgotten how many people but fewer than 12, since stalking is only considered a misdemeanor).

My question is: Why did we have to do the whole thing over? Is the General District Court just not considered valid in general? There was no quibbling over something being improper about the case. It was basically just a "do-over." A friend of mine who once studied law has told me that doesn't make sense to him. All I can say is that, before we even left the courtroom, the CA told me we'd need to start preparing for the appeal. And the appeal itself was a complete re-do from the beginning of everything -- only difference being the presence of a jury, an additional witness or two being called, a different judge, and it took a lot longer.

Anyway, I've often wondered about that, though I was a bit preoccupied to try to figure it out at the time. Is that something that just goes without saying? Meaning the General District Court is so low-level that it gets automatic appeals without any reason?

(By the way, he was found guilty in the appeal also.)

Just curious. And thanks for providing such an interesting website. I learn a lot from reading all the questions!

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