§ 8.01-667.Transmission of records to federal court.

Habeas corpus litigation often moves between state and federal courts, and Section 8.01-667 smooths that transition on the records side. Whenever a habeas corpus case is pending in a federal court, a court of the Commonwealth must transmit to that federal court whatever records are requested.

The request has to come from a specific source and in a specific form: the Attorney General or any assistant attorney general, in writing. Once that written request arrives, the state court’s duty to transmit the requested records is mandatory, supporting the flow of the state-court record into the federal habeas proceeding that follows it.