The VLW Blog

The General Assembly unanimously elected former attorney general and legislator William C. Mims this afternoon to the Supreme Court of Virginia, effective April 1.
The election was a foregone conclusion after his appearance Monday before the House and Senate Courts of Justice Committees as the only candidate for the position. Our report on that appearance and [...]

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William C. Mims will become only the second person to serve as a Virginia legislator, an attorney general and a member of the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Any doubts that he will replace Justice Barbara M. Keenan, who was confirmed last week as a judge of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, disappeared this afternoon [...]

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Franklin County Circuit Judge William N. Alexander II wrote the members of the House Courts of Justice Committee yesterday that he has done some serious soul searching since he appeared before the committee on Feb. 24. Our account that appearance is here.
He acknowledged mistakes in his handling of a special grand jury that indicted Franklin [...]

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The Fairfax delegation to the General Assembly has selected General District Judge Lorraine Nordlund and substitute judges Michael F. Devine and Brett A. Kassabian to fill pending vacancies on the county circuit court.
Del. David Albo, the Republican who chairs the House Courts of Justice Committee, said members of the delegation interviewed candidates for the positions [...]

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Twelfth Circuit judges have appointed D. Gregory Carr, a substitute judge and partner in the firm of Bowen, Champlin, Carr, Foreman & Rockecharlie, to the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court that covers Chesterfield County and Colonial Heights.
Carr succeeds Judge Harold W. Burgess Jr., who was elevated to circuit court earlier this year. The appointment [...]

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Harold W. Burgess Jr., a juvenile  and domestic relations district court judge in Chesterfield County and Colonial Heights, appears to have the inside track on the circuit court vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Cleo E. Powell to the Virginia Court of Appeals.
The General Assembly elected McGuireWoods partner John V. Cogbill III to the [...]

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The Associated Press reports today that President Barack Obama plans to nominate  U.S. District Judge Andre Davis of
Baltimore for one of four vacancies on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
If Davis were to become the 12th judge on the court, it would be split evenly between Republican and Democratic appointees.
The Associated Press has an article [...]

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John V. Cogbill III has told the Richmond-area legislative delegation that he will not accept his appointment to the circuit court bench in Chesterfield and Colonial Heights.
Cogbill is managing partner of McGuireWoods’ Richmond office and very highly regarded for his expertise in land use and other real estate matters. He’s also a member of a [...]

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The reappointment or election of 24 judges and two members of the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission was the last business of the 2009 General Assembly tonight.
Both houses adjourned for the year about 8:45 p.m. after the reappointments and elections.
The reappointments were Fairfax Circuit Judge Gaylord L. Finch Jr. and the five general district judges [...]

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The House Courts of Justice Committee finally got to see this afternoon the judicial performance evaluations of the first five judges to go through the process and quickly certified them to the full House, which is expected to reappoint them tomorrow.
Today was the fourth time the five – General District Judges Timothy Wright and David [...]

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