The VLW Blog

The chairmen of the House and Senate Courts of Justice Committee said this afternoon they expect the General Assembly to convene Friday and elect appellate judges.
House Courts Chairman Dave Albo, R-Fairfax,  said the Republican caucus will propose the elevation of Virginia Court of Appeals Judges Elizabeth A. McClanahan and Cleo E. Powell to the Supreme [...]

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Gov. Bob McDonnell says he’s waited long enough for the General Assembly to fill vacant Virginia judgeships — he’s ready to do it himself.
Saying citizens  cannot afford further delay, McDonnell wrote to legislative leaders Thursday, urging the Assembly to either elect judges or adjourn so he can make the appointments.
McDonnell’s letter notes “[s]ubstitute and retired [...]

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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 Virginia General Assembly will be in town today and could fill two vacancies on the Supreme Court of Virginia, but key players in making that happen say any action is very unlikely.
The primary reason for the one-day session is the realignment of congressional districts. The Senate and the House of Delegates have different proposals, [...]

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The General Assembly was too distracted by redistricting this evening to negotiate seriously on filling two vacancies on the Supreme Court of Virginia, but legislators did manage to fill 14 lower court seats on which local delegations had agreed.
Senate Democrats finally got around to a counter-offer to House Republicans on the Supreme Court vacancies, proposing [...]

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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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The Virginia State Bar and the statewide volunteer bars have set up the machinery for vetting candidates who want to succeed Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr. on the Supreme Court of Virginia
The bars are asking for written materials to be submitted to them by Oct. 29. The VSB’s judicial nominating committee and corresponding groups from [...]

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Richmond lawyer John A. Gibney Jr. was scheduled to cruise through the Senate Judiciary Committee at a routine meeting yesterday morning, but Chariman Pat Leahy, D-Vt., was unable to round up a quorum.
Gibney is back on the docket for a committee next Thursday. Virginia’s  two Democratic senators, Jim Webb and Mark Warner recommended him for [...]

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Updated at 10 p.m., April 28, with a link to the hearing. Gibney’s segment begins 124 minutes and 50 seconds into the hearing.
Richmond lawyer John A. Gibney spent less than 15 minutes before the Senate Judiciary Committee this afternoon in his quest for a federal judgeship in Richmond.
Gibney appeared to benefit from the greater interest [...]

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Two more bar groups have announced their endorsements for two federal court vacancies.
The Virginia Trial Lawyers Association found U.S. Magistrate Judge M. Hannah Lauck highly qualified for a U.S. District Court seat in Norfolk. The VTLA found Linda S. Laibstain, a partner at Williams Mullen in Norfolk, to be qualified.
For a seat in the Western [...]

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