Claire G. Cardwell is a judge for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Virginia in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

Early life and education

Cardwell earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and later attended the University of Richmond School of Law, receiving a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

Career

Cardwell began her career as a lawyer in 1984. In 1989, Cardwell opened a private practice that focused on

criminal defense In the field of criminal law, there are a variety of conditions that will tend to negate elements of a crime (particularly the ''intent'' element), known as defenses. The label may be apt in jurisdictions where the ''accused'' may be assigned some ...

and civil litigation and also began working as an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond. In 1994, Cardwell became Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. Cardwell later worked as the acting capital defender for the central region of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission, defending those charged with

capital murder Capital murder was a statutory offence of aggravated murder in Great Britain, and Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, which was later adopted as a legal provision to define certain forms of aggravated murder in the United States. In som ...

. Cardwell served on the board of governors of the Virginia State Bar Criminal Law Section, the board of directors of the Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center, and the board of directors for the Richmond chapter of Housing Opportunities Made Equal. In February 2013, Cardwell received the Carrico Professionalism Award from the Virginia State Bar Criminal Law Section. In January 2017, Cardwell was elected to a six-year judgeship in the Richmond General District Court by the Virginia General Assembly. In November 2020, Cardwell was brought in as a special judge in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

, to oversee a case in which the police department had filed charges against Virginia state senator Louise Lucas, Portsmouth Chief Public Defender Brenda Spry, and others who had been charged with felony destruction of a Confederate monument at a June 2020 protest. Cardwell dismissed the charges, and expressed concern that the Portsmouth Police had filed the charges without the approval of local prosecutors. On August 16, 2021, Cardwell was elected to the Virginia Circuit Court in Richmond for an eight-year term which started on October 1, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardwell, Claire G. Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women judges University of Virginia alumni University of Richmond School of Law alumni Virginia circuit court judges Virginia lawyers 1958 births