The VLW Blog

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 bench. [...]

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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 immediately [...]

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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 coming out [...]

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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 at [...]

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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 officially delayed until [...]

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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 was concern [...]

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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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The Virginia General Assembly reelected incumbent judges today, but did not elect two former legislators to the bench. Former Front Royal delegate Clay Athey, a Republican, was up for a seat on the 26th Judicial Circuit in Harrisonburg and former delegate Bud Phillips of Castlewood, a Democrat, was nominated for the 30th General District Court [...]

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The General Assembly elected Virginia Court of Appeals Judges Elizabeth A. McClanahan and Cleo E. Powell to the Supreme Court of Virginia today.
The legislature then filled the court of appeals vacancies by electing Glen A. Huff, a former law partner of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and a civil litigator in Virginia Beach, and Stephen R. [...]

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The General Assembly is expected to fill circuit court openings in Virginia Beach and on the Eastern Shore during today’s meeting.
Disagreements between Democratic and Republican lawmakers had prevented officials from electing judges in these circuits, according toThe Virginian-Pilot. A deal has reportedly been reached.
Under the agreement, former Del. Glenn Croshaw is expected to [...]

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