Rule 1:25 - Specialty Dockets(a)Definition of and Criteria for Specialty Dockets.(1) When used in this Rule, the term "specialty dockets" refers to specialized court dockets within the existing structure of Virginia's circuit and district court system offering judicial monitoring of intensive treatment, supervision, and remediation integral to case disposition.(2) Types of court proceedings appropriate for grouping in a "specialty docket" are those which (i) require more than simply the adjudication of discrete legal issues, (ii) present a common dynamic underlying the legally cognizable behavior, (iii) require the coordination of services and treatment to address that underlying dynamic, and (iv) focus primarily on the remediation of the defendant in these dockets. The treatment, the services, and the disposition options are those which are otherwise available under law.(3) Dockets which group cases together based simply on the area of the law at issue, e.g., a docket of unlawful detainer cases or child support cases, are not considered "specialty dockets."(b)Types of Specialty Dockets. The Supreme Court of Virginia currently recognizes only the following three types of specialty dockets: (i) recovery court dockets as provided for in the Recovery Court Act, § 18.2-254.1,(ii) veterans dockets, and(iii) behavioral health dockets as provided for in the Behavioral Health Docket Act, § 18.2-254.3. Recovery court dockets offer judicial monitoring of intensive treatment and strict supervision in drug and drug-related cases. Veterans dockets offer eligible defendants who are veterans of the armed services with substance dependency or mental illness a specialized criminal specialty docket that is coordinated with specialized services for veterans. Behavioral health dockets offer defendants with diagnosed behavioral or mental health disorders judicially supervised, community-based treatment plans, which a team of court staff and mental health professionals design and implement.(c)Authorization Process. A circuit or district court which intends to establish one or more types of these recognized specialty dockets must petition the Supreme Court of Virginia for authorization before beginning operation of a specialty docket or, in the instance of an existing specialty docket, continuing its operation. A petitioning court must demonstrate sufficient local support for the establishment of this specialty docket, as well as adequate planning for its establishment and continuation.(d)Expansion of Types of Specialty Dockets. A circuit or district court seeking to establish a type of specialty docket not yet recognized under this rule must first demonstrate to the Supreme Court that a new specialty docket of the proposed type meets the criteria set forth in subsection (a) of this Rule. If this additional type of specialty docket receives recognition from the Supreme Court of Virginia, any local specialty docket of this type must then be authorized as established in subsection (c) of this Rule.(e)Oversight Structure. By order, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court may establish a Specialty Docket Advisory Committee and appoint its members. The Chief Justice may also establish separate committees for each of the approved types of specialty dockets. The members of the Veterans Docket Advisory Committee, the Behavioral Health Docket Advisory Committee, and the committee for any other type of specialty docket recognized in the future by the Supreme Court will be chosen by the Chief Justice. The Recovery Court Advisory Committee established under Code § 18.2-254.1 constitutes the Recovery Court Docket Advisory Committee.(f)Operating Standards. The Specialty Docket Advisory Committee, in consultation with the committees created under subsection (e), will establish the training and operating standards for local specialty dockets.(g)Financing Specialty Dockets. Any funds necessary for the operation of a specialty docket will be the responsibility of the locality and the local court, but may be provided via state appropriations and federal grants. (h)Evaluation. Any local court establishing a specialty docket must provide to the Specialty Docket Advisory Committee the information necessary for the continuing evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of all local specialty dockets.Adopted by Order dated November 1, 2016, effective 1/16/2016; adopted by order dated November 14, 2016, effective 1/16/2017; amended by order dated January 12, 2021, effective 1/12/2021; amended by order dated August 11, 2021, effective 10/11/2021; amended by order dated June 21, 2024, effective 8/20/2024.