The latest news and cases from the Supreme Court of Virginia
">House wants more Supreme Court candidates Posted in Justices on Feb 21st, 2011
A press release from Del. Dave Albo, chairman of the House Courts of Justice Committee, underscores the uncertainty surrounding the replacement of two justices on the Supreme Court of Virginia – and for filling possible lower courts vacancies as well. The release notes, as we reported last week, that the House Republican caucus has voted [...]
">AG: Court need not identify justices who denied appeal Posted in Appeals Dismissed, Justices on Feb 18th, 2011
Writ panels of the Supreme Court of Virginia are within their authority to cloak their identities, according to an opinion from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Cuccinelli responded to an inquiry from Del. James Shuler, D-Blacksburg, who related the frustration of a curious litigant. The litigant received the typical order denying an appeal, signed on behalf [...]
">McClanahan gets vote of House GOP for Supreme Court seat Posted in Justices on Feb 17th, 2011
The Republican House caucus has selected Court of Appeals Judge Elizabeth A. McClanahan as the party’s candidate for the first of two Supreme Court vacancies, Del. Ben Cline, R-Amherst, said. The decision means McClanahan is likely to be certified by the GOP-controlled House Courts Committee to the House floor next week. “Judge McClanahan is a [...]
">Court short-handed for writ panels Posted in Justices on Feb 15th, 2011
The Supreme Court of Virginia is grappling with a lack of bench strength. The court was able to muster only two three-justice panels rather than the usual three today to hear about 80 10-minute arguments in support of petitions for appeal. In the best of times, the court would have seven justices plus four senior [...]
">Supreme Court candidates to appear on Wednesday Posted in Justices on Feb 4th, 2011
The House and Senate Courts of Justice Committees will interview candidates to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Virginia on Wednesday. The interviews will begin at the end of the noon meeting of the two houses. They were scheduled for the day after crossover because it typically is a light day for the [...]
">An evenly divided court? Posted in Justices on Jan 11th, 2011
The Supreme Court of Virginia has a cadre of three senior justices that it calls on to augment its ranks when a justice cannot sit for some reason. As a result, it’s rare for less than seven jurists to hear and decide a case. Until this week. The court usually knows well before argument week [...]
">Hassell to miss argument session Posted in Justices on Jan 7th, 2011
Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. will miss his last argument session as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia because of health reasons. The court issued a press release this afternoon announcing that he would not participate in the session next week or attend Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s state of the commonwealth address on Wednesday. [...]
">VTLA, Hispanic Bar announce Supreme Court endorsements Posted in Justices on Dec 23rd, 2010
Two more bar groups – the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and Hispanic Bar Association of Virginia – have completed their evaluations of candidates for the Supreme Court of Virginia vacancy to be created by the retirement of Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr. The VTLA found appellate specialists L. Steven Emmert of Virginia Beach and Monica [...]
">Supreme Court scorecard Posted in Justices on Dec 6th, 2010
Baseball may be the classic game of statistics, but blogging lawyer Jay O’Keeffe suggests stats about appellate law can be a pastime of equal interest for attorneys. O’Keeffe has started keeping score on decisions of the Supreme Court of Virginia. In a recent post, he lays out the numbers for the term that ended last [...]
">VBA endorses four for Supreme Court Posted in Justices on Nov 29th, 2010
The Virginia Bar Association has recommended Virginia Court of Appeals Judges D. Arthur Kelsey and Elizabeth A. McClanahan and Circuit Judges Pamela S. Baskervill and Joseph W. Milam Jr. for the vacancy on the Supreme Court of Virginia that will be created next year by the retirement of Judge Lawrence L. Koontz Jr. The VBA [...]
