The VLW Blog

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 [...]

[Read more →]

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 [...]

[Read more →]

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 [...]

[Read more →]

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 [...]

[Read more →]

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 [...]

[Read more →]

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, [...]

[Read more →]

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 [...]

[Read more →]

A spreadsheet prepared for House and Senate budget conferees shows how they went about deciding which judicial vacancies to fill. The table compares the caseload of judges in circuits and districts with the average caseload per judge. With one exception, only those with a caseload 25 percent higher than the state average got a judgeship. [...]

[Read more →]

The General Assembly recessed tonight until April 4 after approving a budget that includes money to fill 21 judgeships that the legislature froze in its 2010 session. The legislature also rejected the proposal of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell that it take $5 million from the reserve fund of the Virginia State Bar and agreed to [...]

[Read more →]

The 2,145-member Fairfax Bar Association has chimed in with the pleas for filling Virginia judicial vacancies. An FBA resolution this week urges General Assembly members to fully fund all vacant judgeships and to reject the governor’s plan to use $5 million from the State Bar Fund for general spending purposes. Unfilled judgeships “are creating undue [...]

[Read more →]