This is a list of past and present
judges of the
Supreme Court of Virginia. The court's name was the Supreme Court of Appeals until it was changed in 1971.
[The Constitution of 1971 designated the court only as the Supreme Court. All prior constitutions, beginning with the Constitution of 1776, designated the court as the Supreme Court of Appeals.] Members were titled Judge until a 1928 constitutional amendment changed the title to Justice and designated the presiding member Chief Justice.
Current justices
The court presently is made up of seven justices,
each elected by a majority vote of both houses of the
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...
for a term of twelve years.
To be eligible for election, a candidate must be a resident of Virginia and must have been a member of the
Virginia State Bar
The Virginia State Bar (VSB) is the administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia created to regulate, improve and advance the legal profession in Virginia. Membership in good standing in the VSB is mandatory for attorneys wishing to pr ...
for at least five years.
Vacancies on the court occurring between sessions of the General Assembly may be filled by the
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
for a term expiring thirty days after the commencement of the next session of the General Assembly.
The Chief Justice presently is chosen by a vote of the seven justices for a term of four years. There is no statutory limit to the number of four-year terms to which a Chief Justice may be elected. However, the Court has stated that the justices internally adopted a two-term limit.
State law requires justices, like all Virginia jurists, to retire no later than twenty days after the commencement of the next regular session of the General Assembly following their seventy-third birthday. The court may designate up to five retired justices to serve as senior justices, each for a renewable one-year term.
Senior justices may sit with the court either to hear petitions for appeal or to hear cases on the merits, particularly to replace any of the seven active justices who may be
recused
Judicial disqualification, also referred to as recusal, is the act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court official or administrative officer. Appli ...
from hearing a specific case. In addition, a retired justice who has not been designated as a senior justice may sit with the court by special designation.
Active justices
Senior justices
Former justices
Members ex officio (1778–88)
The
Constitution of 1776 provided for a Supreme Court of Appeals but did not specify its structure, leaving the General Assembly to organize the court by statute.
The first such statute was enacted at the October 1778 legislative session. From that time until 1788, no one was appointed or elected specifically to serve on the Supreme Court of Appeals. Rather, the court was made up of the three judges of the High Court of Chancery, the five judges of the General Court, and the three judges of the Court of Admiralty, each of whom was elected by the General Assembly to life terms on those courts and served on the Supreme Court of Appeals
ex officio.
[. This statute was repealed and replaced the following year but the material provisions of the replacement statute were the same. .]
The following judges were members of the court by virtue of having been elected judges of the High Court of Chancery, the General Court, and the Court of Admiralty, in the courts' order of precedence under the statute.
The terms listed below run from each member's accession to those respective courts, which were created in 1776 and 1777, before the Supreme Court of Appeals was created. Ex officio membership ended on December 24, 1788, when the Supreme Court of Appeals became a separate body with five judges.
[. This statute was superseded in 1791, , and 1818, , but the material provisions were unchanged.]
The High Court of Chancery:
*
Edmund Pendleton
Edmund Pendleton (September 9, 1721 – October 23, 1803) was an American planter, politician, lawyer, and judge. He served in the Virginia legislature before and during the American Revolutionary War, rising to the position of speaker. Pendleto ...
, January 14, 1778 – December 24, 1788
*
George Wythe
George Wythe (; December 3, 1726 – June 8, 1806) was an American academic, scholar and judge who was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The first of the seven signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence from ...
, January 14, 1778 – December 24, 1788
*
Robert Carter Nicholas Sr., January 14, 1778 – November 1780
*
John Blair Jr., November 23, 1780 – December 24, 1788
The General Court:
*
Paul Carrington, January 23, 1778 – December 24, 1788
* Thomas Mason, January 23, 1778 – May 28, 1778
* Joseph Jones, January 23, 1778 – October 1779
*
John Blair Jr., January 23, 1778 – November 23, 1780
* John Tazewell, May 29, 1778 – November 1781
*
Bartholomew Dandridge, May 29, 1778 – April 1785
*
Peter Lyons, October 20, 1779 – December 24, 1788
*
William Fleming, November 25, 1780 – December 24, 1788
*
James Mercer, November 30, 1781 – December 24, 1788
*
Henry Tazewell
Henry Tazewell (November 27, 1753January 24, 1799) was an American politician who was instrumental in the early government of Virginia, and a US senator from Virginia. He was also a slave owner. Tazewell served as President pro tempore of the Uni ...
, April 25, 1785 – December 24, 1788
*
Edmund Winston, December 11, 1788 – December 24, 1788
The Court of Admiralty:
*
Richard Carey, December 17, 1776 – December 24, 1788
* Benjamin Holt, December 17, 1776 – unknown
* Bernard Moore, December 17, 1776 – unknown
*
Benjamin Waller
Benjamin Waller (1 October 1716 – 1 May 1786) was descended from a Virginia family established in the state since the 17th century. He was born in King William County, Virginia, the son of Col. John and Dorothy (King) Waller, and was trained a ...
, May 1779 – December 1785
*
William Roscoe Wilson Curl
William Roscoe Wilson Curl was a Virginia lawyer and judge. Born in Tidewater, Virginia, Curl studied law and then practiced in the county courts. He was made a judge of the Court of Admiralty in 1777 and thus automatically became a justice of t ...
, May 1779 – unknown
*
James Henry James Henry may refer to:
In government and military
*James Henry (Continental Congress) (1731–1804), American lawyer, Continental Congressman for Virginia
*James Buchanan Henry (1833–1915), lawyer, writer, secretary to the President, nephew an ...
, unknown – December 24, 1788
*
John Tyler
John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president in 1841. He was elected vice president on the 1840 Whig tick ...
, December 20, 1785 – December 24, 1788
Members since 1788
In December 1788, within the broad authority provided by the
Constitution of 1776, the General Assembly re-organized the Supreme Court of Appeals as a separate court with five judges elected by the legislature to life terms.
The General Assembly elected two incumbent judges of the High Court of Chancery and three incumbent judges of the General Court as the first judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals in their own right.
While the court has remained separate ever since, the number of seats has varied. In January 1807, while one of the five seats was vacant, the General Assembly reduced the number to four with the provision that it be further reduced to three upon the next vacancy. The number was restored to five in January 1811.
The next significant alteration to the court came with the
Constitution of 1851. It provided for the popular election of judges to the court, one from each of five districts, and imposed a twelve-year term. As the
Emancipation Proclamation became effective in Virginia during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
(particularly after the Commonwealth surrendered in April 1865 and
13th Amendment became effective in December 1865), the 1851 Constitution's authorization of slavery became illegal under federal law. Thus, Virginia needed a new Constitution.
Federal authorities in occupied areas called a convention with delegates from occupied areas only, which proclaimed the
Constitution of 1864. Although voters statewide never were asked to authorize it in a referendum, it came into (disputed) effect, until a new state Constitution was adopted by popular referendum, then undisputedly came into effect in 1870. Federal military authorities allowed voters statewide to elect delegates to the
Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868
The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868, was an assembly of delegates elected by the voters to establish the fundamental law of Virginia following the American Civil War and the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. The Convention, wh ...
. Virginia voters overwhelmingly ratified that document the following year, except for certain provisions penalizing former Confederates, which failed. The
Constitution of 1864 had ended popular election of judges, instead providing (for the first time) that the General Assembly would elect the judges from candidates nominated by the Governor. It also reduced the court to three judges. On June 3, 1869, during
Congressional Reconstruction
The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...
, Major General
John Schofield
John McAllister Schofield (September 29, 1831 – March 4, 1906) was an American soldier who held major commands during the American Civil War. He was appointed U.S. Secretary of War (1868–1869) under President Andrew Johnson and later served ...
(who governed Virginia as Military District No. 1 and also led efforts to allow separate votes on the proposed Constitution and anti-Confederate provisions), dismissed all three elected judges because a new federal law required removal of officials in Texas and Virginia with any record of service to the Confederacy. On June 9, Schofield appointed three Union sympathizers (whom he had previously appointed judges of lower courts, where they had performed satisfactorily) as their replacements. Those three judges served (and issued binding rulings) until the new state Constitution came into effect and legislators elected replacements.
The post-Reconstruction
Constitution of 1870 eliminated the short-lived provision for gubernatorial nominations, as well as restored the court to five judges. None of the three Union men was elected to the Court by the General Assembly. Legislators did elect two of the three judges elected by voters, and three additional judges. Legislation also allowed the court's members to elect their President, and in March 1870, the new Court elected R.C.L. Moncure (who had the most seniority) their President (the third man to hold that title).
The
Constitution of 1902 staggered the five seats by requiring that at the next election of judges, one judge would be elected to a term of 4 years, one to a term of 6 years, one to a term of 8 years, one to a term of 10 years, and one to a term of 12 years. It perpetuated this staggering by providing that any new judge elected to fill a vacancy would serve only the unexpired portion of his predecessor's term.
In 1906, the General Assembly re-elected each of the five incumbent judges, whose terms were all due to expire the following January 1, to fill the newly staggered seats. An amendment ratified in 1928 increased the number of seats to seven but it did not stagger the two new seats. The
Constitution of 1971 eliminated the staggering of seats by providing that any new judge elected to fill a vacancy serve a full twelve-year term.
These are the former members of the court from 1788, in order of their accession to office. Those who served as presiding officer are designated by italics.
* ''
Edmund Pendleton
Edmund Pendleton (September 9, 1721 – October 23, 1803) was an American planter, politician, lawyer, and judge. He served in the Virginia legislature before and during the American Revolutionary War, rising to the position of speaker. Pendleto ...
'', December 24, 1788
– October 23, 1803
*
John Blair Jr., December 24, 1788
– September 30, 1789
*
Paul Carrington, December 24, 1788
– January 1, 1807
* ''
Peter Lyons'', December 24, 1788
– July 30, 1809
* ''
William Fleming'', December 24, 1788
– February 15, 1824
*
James Mercer, November 14, 1789
– October 1793
*
Henry Tazewell
Henry Tazewell (November 27, 1753January 24, 1799) was an American politician who was instrumental in the early government of Virginia, and a US senator from Virginia. He was also a slave owner. Tazewell served as President pro tempore of the Uni ...
, November 6, 1793
– November 1794
*
Spencer Roane
Spencer Roane (April 4, 1762 – September 4, 1822) was a Virginia lawyer, politician and jurist. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates for six years and a year in the Commonwealth's small executive branch (Council of State). The majority ...
, April 13, 1795
– September 4, 1822
*
St. George Tucker, April 11, 1804
– April 2, 1811
*
James Pleasants
James Pleasants Jr. (October 24, 1769November 9, 1836) was an American politician who served in the U.S. Senate from 1819 to 1822 and was the 22nd Governor of Virginia from 1822 to 1825.
Biography
Pleasants was born at "Cold Comfort," in Goo ...
, January 30, 1811
– March 1811
* ''
Francis T. Brooke'', March 4, 1811
– March 3, 1851
* ''
William H. Cabell
William H. Cabell (December 16, 1772January 12, 1853) was a Virginia lawyer, politician, plantation owner and judge aligned with the Democratic-Republican party. He served as Member of the Virginia House of Delegates, as Governor of Virginia, an ...
'', April 3, 1811
– 1852
[ This records the judges popularly elected under the Constitution of 1851 but does not specify the date on which the terms of Judge Cabell and Judge Baldwin, who were not elected, expired, or that on which the terms of Judge Lee and Judge Samuels, who were newly elected, began.]
*
John Coalter, June 1, 1811
– March 23, 1831
*
John W. Green, October 11, 1822
– February 5, 1834
*
Dabney Carr, February 24, 1824
– January 8, 1837
* ''
Henry St. George Tucker Sr.'', March 1831 – 1841
[ This records that Judge Tucker resigned in summer of 1841 and was replaced by Judge Baldwin, but does not specify when the vacancy was created or filled.]
*
William Brockenbrough, February 20, 1834
– December 10, 1838
*
Richard E. Parker
Richard Elliott Parker (December 27, 1783September 10, 1840) was a lawyer, soldier, judge and politician in Virginia. Parker served in the Virginia House of Delegates and the United States Senate, before later serving on the Virginia Supreme Cour ...
, February 9, 1837
– September 10, 1840
*
Robert Stanard, January 19, 1839 – May 14, 1846
* ''
John J. Allen'', December 14, 1840
– 1866
[ This records the judges elected by the General Assembly under the Constitution of 1864 following the reduction of the court from five judges to three but does not specify the date on which the terms of Judge Allen, Judge Daniel, Judge Lee, and Judge Robertson expired, or that on which the terms of Judge Joynes and Judge Thompson, who were newly elected, began. It likewise records that Judge Rives replaced Judge Thompson but not the specific date.]
*
Briscoe Baldwin
Briscoe Gerard Baldwin (January 18, 1789 – May 18, 1852) was a Virginia attorney, politician, and jurist, who served four terms in the Virginia House of Delegates, at the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830, and a decade in the ...
, January 29, 1842
– 1852
*
William Daniel, December 15, 1846
– 1866
* ''
Richard C. L. Moncure'', March 13, 1851
– June 3, 1869,
1870 – August 24, 1882
*
Green Berry Samuels, 1852
– January 5, 1859
*
George Hay Lee
George Hay Lee (1807 – November 20, 1873) was a Virginia lawyer and politician who served on the Virginia Court of Appeals from 1852 until Virginia declared secession in 1861.
Early and family life
Born in Winchester, Virginia in 1807 to one ...
, 1852
– 1866
*
William J. Robertson, May 1859 – 1866
*
Lucas P. Thompson, 1866 (elected but died prior to taking office)
*
William T. Joynes, 1866
– June 3, 1869,
1870 – March 2, 1872
*
Alexander Rives, 1866
– June 3, 1869
[ This records the judges elected under the Constitution of 1870 but does not specify the date on which the term of Judge Rives, who was not elected, vacated his seat. The constitution provided that the terms of judges elected under it would begin the following January 1. ]
*
Horace Blois Burnham (June 9, 1869 – February 22, 1870)
*
Orloff M. Dorman (June 9, 1869 – March 1, 1870)
*
Westel Willoughby (June 9, 1869 – March 1, 1870)
*
Joseph Christian January 1, 1871
– 1883
*
Waller Redd Staples
Waller Redd Staples (February 24, 1826 – August 21, 1897) was a Virginia lawyer, slave-owner and politician who was briefly a member of the Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonw ...
, January 1, 1871
– January 1, 1883
*
Francis T. Anderson, January 1, 1871
– January 1, 1883
*
Wood Bouldin, April 10, 1872 – October 10, 1876
*
Edward C. Burks, November 1876 – January 1, 1883
* ''
Lunsford L. Lewis'', August 28, 1882
– January 1, 1895
*
Robert A. Richardson, January 1, 1883
– January 1, 1895
*
Thomas T. Fauntleroy, January 1, 1883
– January 1, 1895
*
Drury A. Hinton, January 1, 1883
– January 1, 1895
*
Benjamin W. Lacy, January 1, 1883
– January 1, 1895
*
John W. Riely, January 1, 1895
– August 20, 1900
*
John Alexander Buchanan, January 1, 1895
– January 12, 1916
* ''
James Keith'', January 1, 1895
– June 10, 1916
* ''
Richard H. Cardwell
Richard Henry Cardwell (August 1, 1845 – March 19, 1931) was an American politician and jurist. He was Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates 1887–1895, and a justice of the state Supreme Court of Appeals 1895–1916.
Early life ...
'', January 1, 1895
– November 16, 1916
* ''
George Moffett Harrison
George Moffett Harrison (February 14, 1847 – November 22, 1923) was an American lawyer and judge who served for 22 years as a justice of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals (later named the Supreme Court of Virginia).
Harrison served brie ...
'', January 1, 1895
– March 6, 1917
*
Archer Allen Phlegar, October 1, 1900
– February 1901
* ''
Stafford G. Whittle'', March 1901
– December 31, 1919
* ''
Joseph L. Kelly
Joseph Luther Kelly (March 4, 1867 – April 14, 1925) was a Virginia lawyer and judge who served twice on the Supreme Court of Virginia, Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia. He was elected as the president of the court in his first tenure.
Bi ...
'', January 12, 1916
– January 31, 1924;
March 10, 1925
– April 14, 1925
* ''
Robert R. Prentis'', December 16, 1916
– November 25, 1931
* ''
Frederick W. Sims'', February 8, 1917
– June 12, 1925
*
Martin P. Burks, March 22, 1917
– April 30, 1928
*
Edward W. Saunders, March 9, 1920
– December 16, 1921
*
Jesse F. West, February 1, 1922
– October 25, 1929
* ''
Preston W. Campbell'', January 31, 1924
– October 1, 1946
* ''
Richard Henry Lee Chichester
Richard Henry Lee Chichester (April 18, 1870 – February 2, 1930) was an American judge from Virginia.
Chichester was born in Fairfax County, Virginia. His father was for many years a judge of the county courts of Fairfax and Alexandria, and h ...
'', June 1, 1925
– February 3, 1930
* ''
Henry W. Holt'', June 1, 1928
– October 4, 1947
*
Louis S. Epes, November 20, 1929
– February 14, 1935
*
Herbert B. Gregory, February 1, 1930
– March 9, 1951
* ''
Edward W. Hudgins'', February 1, 1930
– July 29, 1958
*
George L. Browning, February 19, 1930
– August 16, 1947
*
Joseph W. Chinn, December 3, 1931
– August 16, 1936
* ''
John W. Eggleston'', February 26, 1935
– October 1, 1969
*
Claude V. Spratley, August 27, 1936
– September 30, 1967
*
Archibald C. Buchanan, October 1, 1946
– October 1, 1969
*
Abram Penn Staples, October 7, 1947
– January 15, 1951
*
Willis D. Miller
Willis Dance Miller (January 30, 1893 – December 20, 1960) was a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia from 1947 until hours before his death in 1960.
Early and family life
Miller was born in Powhatan County, Virginia to Thomas ...
, November 17, 1947
– December 20, 1960
*
Lemuel F. Smith, February 15, 1951
– October 15, 1956
*
Kennon C. Whittle
Kennon Caithness Whittle (October 12, 1891 – November 10, 1967) was a Virginia lawyer and judge who served as president of the Virginia Bar Association and was elected to the Supreme Court of Virginia, Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
Biograp ...
, March 14, 1951
– February 1, 1965
* ''
Harold Fleming Snead'', January 14, 1957
– September 30, 1974
* ''
Lawrence W. I'Anson
Lawrence Warren I’Anson (April 21, 1907 – December 17, 1990) was a Virginia lawyer, prosecutor and judge. He was elected as a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia and served as chief justice from 1974 to 1981.
Career
I'Anson received h ...
'', September 3, 1958
– January 31, 1981
* ''
Harry L. Carrico'', January 30, 1961
– January 31, 2003
*
Thomas C. Gordon, February 17, 1965
– May 31, 1972
*
Albertis Harrison, October 23, 1967
– December 31, 1981
*
Alexander Harman, October 1, 1969
– December 31, 1979
*
George M. Cochran, October 1, 1969
– April 20, 1987
*
Richard Harding Poff
Richard Harding "Dick" Poff (October 19, 1923 – June 27, 2011) was an American politician and judge. He was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1952 from Virginia's 6th congressional district. An attorney and a Repub ...
, August 31, 1972
– December 31, 1988
*
Christian Compton, October 1, 1974
– February 2, 2000
*
William Carrington Thompson, February 19, 1980
– March 2, 1983
*
Roscoe B. Stephenson Jr., March 2, 1981
– July 1, 1997
*
John Charles Thomas
John Charles Thomas (September 6, 1891December 13, 1960) was an American opera, operetta and concert baritone.
Biography
John Charles Thomas was born on September 6, 1891 in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. He was the son of a Methodist minister of W ...
, April 25, 1983
– November 1, 1989
*
Henry H. Whiting, April 30, 1987
– August 12, 1995
*
Elizabeth B. Lacy, January 4, 1989
– August 16, 2007
[
* '' Leroy R. Hassell Sr.'', December 28, 1989] – February 9, 2011
* Barbara Milano Keenan
Barbara Louise Milano Keenan (born March 1, 1950) is a senior United States circuit judge of United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and a former justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Early life and education
Keenan was bor ...
, July 2, 1991[ – March 12, 2010]
* ''Cynthia D. Kinser
Cynthia Dinah Kinser (born December 20, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Kinser was elected by the Virginia General Assembly to her first 12-year term to the Virginia Supreme Court in 1 ...
'', July 8, 1997 – December 31, 2014
* '' Donald W. Lemons'', March 16, 2000 – February 1, 2022
* G. Steven Agee
George Steven Agee (born November 12, 1952) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and a former justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Background
Born in Roanoke, Virginia, Agee was e ...
, March 1, 2003 – June 30, 2008
* William C. Mims, April 1, 2010 – March 31, 2022
* Elizabeth A. McClanahan, August 1, 2011[ – September 1, 2019
* ]Jane Marum Roush
Jane Marum Roush (born September 24, 1956) is an American lawyer and judge who served as an interim Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia from 2015 to 2016.
On July 27, 2015, Governor Terry McAuliffe announced his appointment of Roush to fill ...
, August 1, 2015 – February 12, 2016
Succession of seats between 1895 and 2022
In 1895, for the first time, the General Assembly elected a full bench of five new judges. Consequently, any line of succession between a specific justice of the current court and a judge elected before 1895 necessarily would be arbitrary. However, when the General Assembly re-elected the incumbent judges in 1906 to fill the staggered seats created by the Constitution of 1902, it elected a specific judge to each seat: it re-elected Judge Cardwell for 4 years, Judge Whittle for 6, Judge Buchanan for 8, Judge Keith for 10, and Judge Harrison for 12. It therefore was possible to trace the line of succession of each of these seats, and the two new seats created in 1928, to its successive occupants.
Notes
External links
Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography
(Note: some of the information contained is contradicted by primary sources.)
{{Lists of US Justices
Virginia law
Justices of the Supreme Court
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 ...