Condemnation procedure alternatives for Virginia.

8979849PDFTech ReportVHRC 72-R14VirginiaVirginia Transportation Research CouncilMerrill, Dennis GVirginia Highway Research CouncilUS Transportation CollectionFifty-four judges were interviewed and at least one judge in each of the forty judicial circuits was questioned. Some of the observations on the present procedure were as follows: (1) a substantial number of judges were dissatisfied with the procedure, (2) a majority of the judges believed that the commissioners based their awards on considerations other than fair market value, and (3) a number of judges expressed the opinion that awards were generally high. Observations on alternative were that (1) the judges overwhelmingly opposed the use of regular civil juries in condemnation cases; (2) while only 13 judges were asked about the matter, most of those commenting did not consider the proposed requirement that jurors be freeholders to be significant in changing the character of the jury, and (3) a majority of judges indicated an interest in and support for the selection of commissioners by a committee and the drawing of commissioners by lot for each case