The VLW Blog

The second of two bills that would have limited the appointment power of Virginia circuit judges has met defeat at the General Assembly. Seen as a reaction to the appointment of former prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland as a Richmond general district judge, the bills would have prevented interim appointment of judge candidates who were rejected by [...]

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In a block vote, the Virginia House Courts of Justice Committee today certified candidates interviewed in December and today for judicial posts they currently occupy. That includes Richmond General District Court Judge Tracy Thorne-Begland, an openly gay former prosecutor appointed to the bench by Richmond Circuit Court judges last summer. A vote by the courts [...]

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A bill to restrict circuit court judges’ right to fill a seat on the district court bench has been tabled by a House Courts of Justice subcommittee. House Bill 1338 would change Va. Code § 16.1-69.9:2 to add that no person could be appointed on an interim basis to fill a vacant district court seat, [...]

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His election to a Richmond judgeship might have been rejected by the House of Delegates, but Tracy Thorne-Begland could get an interim appointment from the city’s circuit judges. As the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports, the six circuit judges in Richmond have the authority to make an interim appointment for the funded-but-unfilled vacancy on the general district [...]

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Tazewell County Circuit Judge Teresa M. Chafin was elected to the Court of Appeals of Virginia in an early morning General Assembly session that left confusion and controversy about other judicial appointments. It appeared that the Assembly elected Fredericksburg lawyer Wesley G. Marshall to the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, but the action could not be [...]

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A pro-family advocacy group has targeted a Richmond prosecutor up for a general district court judgeship in General Assembly judicial elections today. Deputy Richmond commonwealth’s attorney Tracy Thorne-Begland has a “long history of political activism,” claims The Family Foundation in a blog entry posted Friday. Thorne-Begland was discharged from the Navy 20 years ago after [...]

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Wrapping up judicial interviews this morning, legislative committees have voted to certify all but one of the candidates who interviewed this week. The full House has again postponed a vote on judges. Only Halifax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Kimberley S. White was left off the list approved by the Senate courts committee. White ran into questions [...]

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Once again, the House and Senate have put off judicial elections for a day as budget negotiations continue. Del. Ben Cline, R-Amherst, said discussions continue with the Senate. “They are doing their best to work out an agreement to proceed. We want to give them that time,” he told the House. Judicial elections now are [...]

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Both the Virginia House and Senate agreed to delay election of judges until Thursday as budget wrangling continues. The schedule for the General Assembly session required a vote on an extension of time if agreement was not reached on the filling of judicial vacancies by today. Explaining the delay, Sen. Tommy Norment, R-Williamsburg, said there [...]

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The joint House and Senate Courts of Justice Committees will meet this afternoon to conduct interviews of judicial candidates. In addition to the nine candidates for the vacancy in the Virginia Court of Appeals created by the retirement of Judge James W. Haley Jr., candidates for a long list of vacancies and potential vacancies will [...]

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