Decker to lead appeals court, four in line for judgeships

The 11 judges of the Court of Appeals of Virginia have decided on a change in leadership.

The court on Nov. 27 elected Judge Marla Graff Decker as chief judge-elect. On Jan. 1, she will succeed Chief Judge Glen A. Huff.

Under the Virginia Code, the chief judge of the Court of Appeals is elected by a majority vote of the judges to a four-year term. A court spokesperson responding for Judge Huff said the judges’ vote count would not be provided “as it is the practice of the Court of Appeals to not disclose internal proceedings of the Court.”

In 2014, Huff was chosen by his fellow judges to succeed Walter S. Felton as chief judge on Felton’s retirement at the end of that year.

Elected to the Court of Appeals by the General Assembly in 2011, Huff is up for re-election to the court at the 2019 Assembly session. He was scheduled for an interview Dec. 7 with members of the Assembly’s court committees.

Decker was appointed to the Court of Appeals by Gov. Bob McDonnell in 2013 and elected to an eight-year term by the 2014 Assembly. Decker had previously been the state Secretary of Public Safety and was a veteran attorney and practice leader in the criminal litigation section of the attorney general’s office.

Decker received her undergraduate degree from Gettysburg College and her law degree from the University of Richmond.

The Court of Appeals provides appellate review of decisions of the circuit courts in domestic relations matters, traffic and criminal cases and appeals from decisions of administrative agencies. The court also hears appeals of Workers’ Compensation decisions.

Lawyers up for judgeships

Four Virginia lawyers are under consideration by legislators for trial court judgeships, a judicial interview list revealed last week.

The lawyers were included on the list of candidates and incumbent judges to be interviewed by the General Assembly courts committees on Friday, Dec. 7. The revised list was released Dec. 3.

The lawyers up for legislative interviews are:

• Fauquier County Commonwealth’s Attorney James P. Fisher, who is under consideration for a seat on the circuit bench in the 20th Circuit;
• Newport News attorney Polly Chong, up for possible election to either the general district court or juvenile and domestic relations court in Newport News;
• Virginia Beach attorney Cheshire I’Anson Eveleigh, interviewing for a seat on the Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court and
• Virginia Beach attorney Timothy J. Quick, interviewing for a separate J&DR seat in Virginia Beach.

Fisher was appointed as commonwealth’s attorney in 2011 and was twice unopposed in elections for full four-year terms. He faces a challenger for the Republican nomination next year. He recently led the prosecution of a murder case that brought a life sentence for a man who executed his former boss at a Warrenton drug store.

Chong has practiced criminal and family law in Newport News for more than 20 years. She serves as a substitute judge in the 7th District. She has been active with the Greater Penninsula Women’s Bar Association, the I’Anson-Hoffman American Inns of Court and the Old Dominion Bar Association. She was honored by the Virginia State Bar as 2013 Local Bar Leader of the Year.

Eveleigh is chair of the Virginia Family Law Coalition and serves as a substitute judge in the 2ndDistrict. She is a former board chair of domestic relations practice groups in both the Virginia State Bar and the Virginia Bar Association.

Quick focuses on personal injury, criminal defense and series traffic offenses. He’s a former president of the Virginia Beach Bar Association. He interviewed for a judgeship at the 2018 General Assembly, but was not nominated as the position was unfunded.