Monday leads in bar nods for appeals court

Monica Taylor Monday

Roanoke attorney Monica Taylor Monday is the leader in support from Virginia’s statewide bar groups for a seat on the Virginia Court of Appeals.

Judge James J. Haley Jr. is retiring in March; leaders of the Senate and House of Delegates sought input from the bar groups on the pending vacancy.

Eight statewide bar groups have made their recommendations: the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Virginia, the Hispanic Bar Association of Virginia, the Old Dominion Bar Association, the Virginia Bar Association, the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, the Virginia State Bar, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and the Virginia Women Attorneys Association.

The bar groups have a wide variety of methods for selecting candidates for recommendation. Some groups conduct personal interviews, while others rely on paper submissions. And while two groups – the VBA and VADA – give a simple endorsement, the other groups have a tiered system, with distinctions such as “highly qualified” or “qualified.”

Nine candidates had emerged for the vacancy, and all of them received at least four nods. Monday was named by all eight of the bars. Three candidates earned backing from seven of the eight bars.

The candidates, along with the bars and ratings (where noted), are these:

Tazewell County Circuit Judge Teresa M. Chafin
APABA-VA (recommended)
HBA-VA (recommended)
ODBA (qualified)
VADA
VBA
VSB (highly qualified)
VWAA (highly recommended)

Collin J. Hite, Richmond lawyer
APABA-VA (qualified)
HBA-VA (qualified)
ODBA (qualified)
VADA
VBA
VSB (highly qualified)
VWAA (highly recommended)

Augusta County Circuit Judge Victor Ludwig
VADA
VBA
VSB (highly qualified)
VTLA (qualified)

Virginia Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources Maureen Riley Matsen
APABA-VA (qualified)
HBA-VA (recommended)
VADA
VSB (highly qualified)
VTLA (qualified)
VWAA (qualified)

Monica Taylor Monday, Roanoke lawyer
APABA-VA (recommended)
HBA-VA (highly recommended)
VADA
VBA
VSB (highly qualified)
VTLA (highly qualified)
ODBA (qualified)
VWAA (recommended)

Patricia Palmer Nagel, Williamsburg lawyer
APABA-VA (qualified)
HBA-VA (qualified)
ODBA (highly qualified)
VWAA (qualified)

Fairfax Circuit Judge Lorraine Nordlund
APABA-VA (highly recommended)
HBA-VA (highly recommended)
ODBA (highly qualified)
VADA
VTLA (highly qualified)
VWAA (qualified)

Larry Shelton, federal public defender in Roanoke
APABA-VA (recommended)
HBA-VA (recommended)
ODBA (highly qualified and highly recommended)
VSB (highly qualified)
VWAA (qualified)

Montgomery County Circuit Judge Josiah T. Showalter Jr.
APABA-VA (recommended)
HBA-VA (recommended)
ODBA (highly qualified)
VADA
VSB (qualified)
VTLA (qualified)
VWAA (recommended)