Chief Justice Goodwyn receives 2024 Carrico Award

Supreme Court of Virginia Chief Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn is the recipient of the 2024 Harry L. Carrico Outstanding Career Service Award.

The award is presented annually by the Judicial Council of Virginia to a Virginia judge who has demonstrated exceptional leadership in the administration of the courts while exhibiting the traits of integrity, courtesy, impartiality, wisdom and humility over an extended career.

The award is named for former Chief Justice Harry L. Carrico, who served on the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1961 to 2003 and as chief justice from 1981 to 2003, making Carrico the longest serving justice and chief justice in the court’s history.

Goodwyn received the Carrico Award at the Judicial Conference of Virginia’s annual meeting on May 15.

“Chief Justice Goodwyn’s career is a testament to the very essence of professionalism embodied by Justice Carrico,” Justice Cleo Powell said in presenting the award. “His dedication to fairness, equal access to justice and the integrity of the judicial system resonates deeply with the spirit of this award.”

Goodwyn was first appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia by then-Gov. Tim Kaine in 2007. He was elected chief justice by his peers on the court in 2022 following the retirement of Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons.

Prior to his appointment to the high court, Goodwyn served for 10 years as a Chesapeake Circuit Court judge and for two years on the Chesapeake General District Court bench.

A graduate of Harvard University and the University of Virginia School of Law, Goodwyn began his career in private practice and as faculty at U.Va. He is a prior recipient of the Virginia Bar Association’s Gerald L. Baliles Distinguished Service Award and formerly co-chaired the Virginia Access to Justice Commission.

In January, the Supreme Court of Virginia announced that Goodwyn will retire effective Jan. 1, 2026. In April, the General Assembly tapped Court of Appeals Judge Junius P. Fulton III to assume Goodwyn’s seat on the Supreme Court’s bench.