Cynthia Dinah Kinser (born December 20, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the chief justice of the

Supreme Court of Virginia The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative ...

. Kinser was elected by the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

to her first 12-year term to the Virginia Supreme Court in 1998, after being appointed by Governor

George Allen George Allen may refer to: Politics and law * George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team * George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney an ...

to fill a 1997 vacancy. Kinser was elected to a second 12-year term during the 2010 session of the General Assembly. She became Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court on February 1, 2011. She is the first woman to hold the office of Chief Justice on the Court.

Biography

Kinser received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree with honors from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

in 1974, and 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 ...

from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

in 1977. Prior to being appointefd to the Supreme Court by Governor

George Felix Allen George Felix Allen (born March 8, 1952) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 67th governor of Virginia from 1994 to 1998 and as a United States senator from Virginia from 2001 to 2007. The son of Nation ...

, Kinser served as law clerk Judge

Glen Morgan Williams Glen Morgan Williams (February 17, 1920 – November 4, 2012) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. Education and career Born in Jonesville, Virginia, Williams received a ...

of the

United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in case citations, W.D. Va.) is a United States district court. Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth ...

from 1977 to 1978. She then entered lawyer private practice from 1978 to 1979 and served as Commonwealth's Attorney for

Lee County, Virginia Lee County is the westernmost county in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,173. Its county seat is Jonesville. History The area of far western Virginia and eastern Kentucky supported large Archai ...

from 1980 to 1984. She returned to private practice from 1984 to 1990. She served as a U.S. magistrate judge of the Western District of Virginia from 1990 to 1997. On May 2, 1997, Governor

appointed Kisner to the

Virginia Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative ...

to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Justice

Roscoe B. Stephenson Jr. Roscoe Bolar Stephenson Jr. was born at Covington, Virginia on February 22, 1922. He attended the public schools of Alleghany County, Virginia and received both his B.A. (1943) and his J.D. (1947) from Washington and Lee University. After being a ...

She began active service on July 8, 1997. She was elected by the General Assembly to a 12-year term commencing on February 1, 1998. She became chief justice of the Virginia Supreme Court on February 1, 2011, succeeding Chief Justice

Leroy R. Hassell Sr. Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. (August 17, 1955 – February 9, 2011), was a justice of the Virginia Supreme Court and the first African-American Chief Justice of that Court, serving two four-year terms from February 1, 2003, to January 31, 2011. ...

Kinser retired from the Supreme Court at the end of 2014. On May 5, 2015, Kinser began a position as senior counsel with the Roanoke-based law firm Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, LLP. At Gentry Locke, Kinser will focus on appeals, criminal matters, and government investigations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinser, Cynthia D. 1951 births Living people 20th-century American women judges 20th-century American judges 21st-century American women judges 21st-century American judges Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia County and city Commonwealth's Attorneys in Virginia Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia People from Pennington Gap, Virginia United States magistrate judges University of Tennessee alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Virginia state court judges Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States Women in Virginia politics

Biography

See also

References