The SCoVA Blog

Serving as a clerk for the Supreme Court of Virginia is a singular honor that is shared by an elite group of lawyers. Last night many former clerks gathered at the Library of Virginia to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Judicial Clerk program. Justice Donald W. Lemons welcomed the group and emceed a program [...]

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Only five justices will hear many, if not most, of the cases during this week’s arguments before the Supreme Court of Virginia. The decision to hear the cases without the addition of one or two senior justices appears to be based on two factors: concern about 3-3 splits by an evenly divided court and a [...]

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Two 27th Circuit judges have made a late entry into the competition for a seat on the Supreme Court of Virginia just as more statewide bar groups are sending their evaluations of a second round of candidates to legislators. Judges Colin R. Gibb of Pulaski County and Josiah T. Showalter Jr. of Wythe County are [...]

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The judicial nominating committee of the Virginia State Bar has found five of the eight candidates it interviewed on Tuesday to be highly qualified for a seat on the Supreme Court of Virginia. They are Virginia Court of Appeals Judge Cleo E. Powell; circuit judges Gary A. Hicks of Henrico county, Victor V. Ludwig of [...]

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W. Coleman Allen Jr., a partner in the Richmond personal injury firm of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen, has asked to be considered for appointment to the Supreme Court of Virginia. He is among eight candidates scheduled to be interviewed March 29 by the judicial nominating committees of the Virginia State and other statewide bar [...]

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Add 25th Circuit Judge Victor V. Ludwig to the list of those interested in a seat on the Supreme Court of Virginia. Ludwig was elevated to the circuit bench in 2008 after four years as a J&DR judge. He’s a graduate of the University of Virginia and its law school. He’s the 17th candidate to [...]

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In a judicial selection process that imbues judges with a great deal of independence and little formal accountability, bar groups provide “informal accountability that works quite well,” Justice William C. Mims told the Richmond Bar Association today. He noted that he appeared in front of 16 bar groups, including the RBA, after legislators asked for [...]

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Add former Virginia Attorney General Mark L. Earley to the list of those interested in being a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Statewide bar groups vetted 10 candidates last year at the request of the General Assembly’s Courts of Justice Committees, and an 11th hopeful, Rockbridge Circuit Judge Michael S. Irvine, also was [...]

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Roanoke City Circuit Judge Clifford R. Weckstein again will stand for election to the Supreme Court of Virginia, he confirmed Monday. Weckstein, the Roanoke Valley’s most senior judge, entered the running for one of two seats now vacant on the court. Weckstein previously sought a Supreme Court post in 2008 when an opening was created [...]

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Cynthia D. Kinser began her first argument session as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia today by asking for a moment of silence for her predecessor, Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr., who died barely a week after Kinser succeeded him on Feb. 1. “It’s a sad day as we start our first session [...]

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