Joseph Cornell Lindsey (born August 10, 1959) is a
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
judge in the Fourth Judicial Circuit. Formerly a lawyer in private practice in
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, substitute judge in that court for 16 years and
Democratic politician, he represented (part-time) the
90th district in the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
from 2014 until November 15, 2020, when he resigned to accept the judicial appointment; fellow Democrat Angelia Williams Graves succeeded to the seat.
Early life and education
Born in Norfolk, Lindsey graduated from
Booker T. Washington High School before attending the
Hampton Institute. After receiving a B.A. in political science in 1981, he went to
Washington, D.C.
)
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to study law, and received a J.D. from
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
in 1984.
Career
Lindsey had a general legal practice in Norfolk, and his district encompassed part of Norfolk and part of
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...
.
He won the 2014 special election to succeed retiring incumbent
Algie Howell
Algie Thomas Howell, Jr. (born January 8, 1938) is an American politician. From 2004 to 2014 he was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing the 90th district, made up of parts of the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. He is a m ...
. Voters have since re-elected Lindsey (who faced no opponents in 2015, 2017 and 2019).
In the 2020 session, a bill which Lindsey had proposed allowing judges to inform juries of the range of criminal sentences passed and was signed into law by Governor
Ralph Northam on March 4, 2020.
Lindsey served as the Chair of the Privileges and Elections Committee.
Personal life
Judge Lindsey and his wife of 28 years, Rhoda, have two children, Ashley and Jason.
References
1959 births
Living people
Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates
Politicians from Norfolk, Virginia
Virginia lawyers
Virginia state court judges
21st-century American politicians
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