The VLW Blog

The budget compromise hammered out last week by House and Senate conferees includes money for filling 23 trial court judgeships, according to a knowledgeable source.
The plan would unfreeze 10 circuit court positions, six general district court slots, and seven juvenile and domestic relations court seats, at a reported cost of $5.8 million for judgeships and [...]

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House budget planners appear willing to turn up the heat a bit more than their Senate counterparts when it comes to unfreezing Virginia trial court judgeships.
A House Appropriations subcommittee recommends filling 33 judgeships that would otherwise be left unfilled. The House plan would fill approximately two-thirds of the now-frozen judgeships, according to the panel’s report.
A [...]

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Del. Clay Athey has been nominated by fellow legislators for a seat on the 26th Judicial Circuit bench.
Athey, a Front Royal attorney, did not seek re-election to the House this year. He is being nominated for the vacancy left by this year’s retirement of Judge John Prosser of Winchester.
Del. Steven Landes, R-Weyers Cave, tells the [...]

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Is Virginia ever going to get two new Supreme Court justices?
Here is where we stand, as of our report (log-in required) last month:
There are two seats open, due to the retirement of Justice Lawrence Koontz and the death of Justice Leroy Hassell.
Republicans in the House want Appeals Court Judge Elizabeth McClanahan to fill one seat. [...]

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The Senate Courts of Justice Committee was apparently unimpressed by two prosecutors who are seeking a judgeship in the 10th Circuit.
This afternoon, the Committee found Darrell W. Puckett, the commonwealth’s attorney in Appomattox County, to be qualified for the seat on a vote of 6-5-1. It did not certify Kimberley S. White, Puckett’s counterpart in [...]

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The state appears unlikely to get new judges before April 25 at the earliest, although the Republican caucus in the House of Delegates selected Virginia Court of Appeals Judges D. Arthur Kelsey and Elizabeth A. McClanahan as its candidates for two vacancies on the Supreme Court of Virginia.
If those two are elected to the high [...]

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Jimmie V. Reyna, a partner in the Washington office of Williams Mullen, has been unanimously voted in by the United States Senate as Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Reyna led the firm’s international trade & customs group and served on Williams Mullen’s board of directors. Reyna also has a [...]

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An Alexandria general district judge and two attorneys have expressed interest in a seat on the Alexandria Circuit bench that will open when Judge Donald Haddock Sr. steps down at the end of the year.
Judge Becky Moore, Jim Clark and Timothy Battle have submitted their questionnaires to the Alexandria Bar Association, reports the Alexandria [...]

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With 21 formerly frozen seats up for legislative election next month, would-be judges are making their aspirations known.
The Daily Times reports four candidates have expressed interest in an Eastern Shore circuit judgeship, left open by the retirement of Glen Tyler. They are: General District Judge Gordon Vincent, and Accomack lawyers W. Revell Lewis III, [...]

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The term “mature consideration” probably does not apply to the process the Judicial Panel of the House Courts of Justice Committee has set up to fill upwards of 23 judicial vacancies.
The plan calls for the panel to start interviewing the candidates at 3 p.m. on April 5, conclude the interviews by 6 p.m., and certify [...]

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