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COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF VIRGINIA
RICHMOND
March 15, 2021
President Jay B. Meyerson President Fernando Villaroel
Virginia State Bar Virginia Hispanic Bar Association
1111 East Main Street, Suite 700 15 N. King Street #301
Richmond, VA 23219‐0026 Leesburg, VA 20176
President Richard H. Ottinger President Richard J. Holzheimer
Virginia Bar Association Virginia Asian and Pacific Bar Association
1111 East Main Street, Suite 905 1750 Tysons Boulevard, Suite 1800
Richmond, VA 23219‐0026 McLean, VA 22102‐4215
President Elliott M. Buckner
President Margaret Hardy
Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
Virginia Women Attorney’s Association
919 East Main Street, Suite 620
P.O. Box 3806
Richmond, VA 23219
Merrifield, VA 22116‐6363
President Bruce C. Sams
President Tate C. Love
Old Dominion Bar Association
Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys
P.O. Box 12301
1915 Hugenot Road, Suite 310
Richmond, VA 23241‐0301
Richmond, VA 23235
Re: Vetting for Court of Appeals of Virginia Vacancies
Dear Bar Leaders:
As you know, the General Assembly has passed SB1261 which creates an automatic right of
appeal in all criminal and civil cases, expands the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and
adds six new positions to the Court to accommodate new case volume. The bill is on Governor
Northam’s desk and he is expected to sign it.
Coupled with the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Rossie D. Alston, there are now
seven vacancies on the Court. To ensure that all applicants are clear on the deadlines of the
associations for vetting applicants, we are writing to advise you that our caucuses have decided to
reopen vetting for the seven vacancies on the Court of Appeals.
We would like all interested applicants to be vetted by the Virginia State Bar. We would also
encourage applicants to submit applications for vetting to all statewide bar associations to obtain
maximum public input to select the best candidates. We would recommend that you request all
applications to be received by April 15, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.
Virginia Bar Presidents
March 15, 2021
Page 2 of 2
We would request all bar associations to provide Chairs of the Senate Judiciary Committee and
House Courts of Justice Committee with their recommendations no later than May 30, 2021 at 5:00
p.m. so that we can have timely elections.
The new judges should be prepared to begin serving on July 1, 2021. The Court will need to
prepare and approve new rules, establish chambers, and hire clerks and staff in preparation of hearing
cases on January 1, 2022.
Please note that § 17.1‐400 effective July 1, 2021, provides: “The General Assembly shall
consider regional diversity in making its elections.” We are also dedicated to ensuring diversity of racial
and practice areas to the Court. Accordingly, we would hope your associations would likewise consider
these matters in your candidate reviews.
Our understanding of the candidate application contacts are as follows:
VIRGINIA STATEWIDE JUDICIAL VETTING LIASONS
Whether your association chooses to reiterate recommendations from last year when the Court
had a more limited jurisdiction, fewer openings and a smaller candidate pool is up to your associations.
If you have any questions, please reach out to our offices.
Sincerely yours,
Senator John S. Edwards Delegate Charniele L. Herring
Chair Senate Judiciary Committee Chair House Courts of Justice Committee
21st District 46th District
cc: Virginia Lawyers’ Weekly