The VLW Blog

Judge James W. Haley Jr. has announced his plan to retire from the Court of Appeals of Virginia on March 1. His retirement will give the General Assembly an opportunity to fill his seat on that court during the 2012 session. Haley was elected to the Court of Appeals in 2005 after serving 15 years [...]

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Henrico Circuit Judge Catherine Currin Hammond has received the 2011 Women of Achievement Award from the Metropolitan Richmond Women’s Bar Association. The award is presented annually to a woman who has contributed pro bono services and volunteered to improve the community. Hammond currently serves as chief judge of the 14th Judicial Circuit in Henrico County. [...]

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A robbery suspect allegedly tried to hire a hit man to kill a Virginia Beach judge who rejected a proposed plea bargain. David Hugh Hance, already in jail on an attempted bank robbery charge, has been accused of soliciting for capital murder, reports The Virginian-Pilot. Virginia Beach Circuit Judge Les Lilley was the intended target. [...]

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Loudoun County General District Judge Julia Cannon has announced she will retire next year. Cannon confirms she will step down on April 30. Cannon will have served on the bench for 20 years. Cannon is among three Northern Virginia judges who recently have announced retirement plans. Also planning to hang up the robe are Fairfax [...]

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Fairfax County Circuit Judge Leslie Alden says she will retire from the bench next year. Alden confirmed in an email she will step down when her term expires on July 31. She has served on the court since 1996. Alden is a member of the 2010 class of VLW’s Influential Women of Virginia. She has [...]

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Arlington Circuit Judge Joanne F. Alper will retire from the bench in May, she announced in a news release this week. Alper was the first woman to serve in the 17th Circuit when she was named to the judgeship in 1998. She formerly served on the county juvenile and domestic relations court. “It has been [...]

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Is it proper for a judge to reveal a jury verdict to lawyers before it is announced in open court? The Daily Press puts this practice into question after a recent criminal trial in Hampton Circuit Court. After the verdict was handed down in Deshawn Goodwin-Godfrey’s second-degree murder trial, a reporter observed the deputy commonwealth’s [...]

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Tysons Corner lawyer Brian F. Kenney has been named to a pending opening on the federal bankruptcy bench in Alexandria. He will succeed U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen S. Mitchell, who was named to the court in 1994 and who will retire Aug. 31. Kenney, who was appointed by the judges of the 4th U.S. Circuit [...]

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Charleston, W.Va., attorney Stephanie Thacker is expected to be President Obama’s pick for an open seat on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. While no official announcement has been made, several sources have confirmed the impending nomination, the West Virginia Record reports. Thacker would replace M. Blane Michael, who died earlier this year. Thacker [...]

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A proposed reduction in the number of circuit judges for Arlington and Alexandria brought out Arlington bar leaders in force last night at a hearing on proposed realignment of the state’s judicial boundaries. Arlington had four circuit judges until earlier this year when Judge Benjamin N.A. Kendrick retired. Judge James F. Almand also has announced [...]

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