The Dillon Rule and VA Notary Standards

Dillon Rule is best explained by Kindler writing in the Blue Commonwealth

"In a nutshell, the Dillon Rule prevents local governments in Virginia from exercising all but the most basic powers, except when expressly granted by the state legislature - thereby preventing our local governments from taking necessary, locally-appropriate actions unless and until our famously conservative General Assembly gives them permission to do so. (In many cases, fat chance of that.)

But this is not simply a Virginia rule, but one with a national, 100-year-old pedigree. The Dillon rule has applied nationwide since 1891, when the Supreme Court adopted the reasoning of one Federal Circuit Court Judge named John Forrest Dillon in a case affectionately known as Municipal Corporations. "

The VA Notary needs to to know that local entities can not develop notary standards. The VA code and the VA Notebook sets the standards for VA notarization.Some entities try to establish their standards; however, private attorneys are reluctant to protest these standards since frequently these entities have legitimate power over other issues. Clearly, what is a needed is an efficient mechanism where VA can order n VA entity to accept a properly notarized document!!!

VA Notaries can swear in Federal Employees

When a federal employee begins employment with agency or changes from one federal agency to another federal agency the employee is required to be sworn in. This is accomplish by a federal affidavit that is filled in by the employee and Va notary swears the employee in doing a jurat and filling in the location, date, signing the form and stamping the affidavit with the notary stamp showing commission expiration date, and appointment number. The literature is not clear whether a state notary can swear in a US President. However, a US President is a federal employee and I have concluded that a VA notary in VA could swear in a US President using the standard federal employee affidavit. However,I do not thing this issue will before any VA notary anytime in the future.

As I have clearly said in an earlier blog entry, all VA notaries are authorized to swear in witnesses for depositions on federal property located in VA