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Virginia Supreme Court justice vacancy (February 2022)
| Virginia Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Lemons vacancy |
| Date: February 1 ,2022 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Wesley G. Russell |
| Date: June 17, 2022 |
On June 17, 2022, the Virginia General Assembly elected Wesley G. Russell Jr. for a 12-year term on the Virginia Supreme Court that commenced July 1, 2022.[1] Russell succeeded former Justice Donald Lemons, who retired on February 1, 2022.[2] Under Virginia law at the time of the vacancy, the Virginia General Assembly selected the justices of the supreme court. At the time of the vacancy, Democrats held a 21-19 majority in the Senate and Republicans held a 52-48 majority in the House.
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Virginia Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2022.
The appointee
- See also: Wesley G. Russell Jr.
Prior to his election to the supreme court, Russell was a judge of the Virginia Court of Appeals. Before taking the bench, he worked as the deputy attorney general for the Civil Litigation Division of the Commonwealth of Virginia and a partner at the law firm of McSweeney, Crump, Childress & Temple PC.[1][3]
Russell earned a B.A. from the University of Virginia in 1992 and a J.D. from George Mason University in 1995.[3]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Virginia
The seven justices of the supreme court are elected by a majority vote of both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly.[4] Supreme court justices serve 12-year terms. At the end of their terms, judges must be re-selected by the legislature just as they initially were.[4]
Qualifications
To serve on the supreme court, a judge must be:
- a state resident; and
- a state bar member for at least five years.[5]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the court is selected by peer vote. The supreme court chief justice serves in that capacity for four years.[6]
Vacancies
When the General Assembly is in session, midterm vacancies are filled by the same legislative selection process normally used to select judges. When the assembly is not in session, the governor appoints a replacement to serve until 30 days after the start of the next session, by which point a judge must be elected to the seat.[7][8]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Virginia Supreme Court
Justices
Following Lemons' retirement, the Virginia Supreme Court included the following members:
Three justices—Powell Goodwyn, and Mims—were selected by a General Assembly with a Democratic-controlled Senate and a Republican-controlled House. However, Republicans held a majority in the General Assembly overall. Justice Powell was selected when Republicans had a 77-61 majority. Justice Goodwyn was appointed by Gov. Tim Kaine (D) in 2007, while the legislature was out of session, and approved by the 74-63 Republican-majority General Assembly in 2008. Justices Kelsey, McCullough, and Chafin were selected by a General Assembly with Republican control of both chambers.
About the court
| Supreme Court of Virginia |
|---|
|
| Court Information |
| Justices: 7 |
| Founded: 1776 |
| Location: Richmond, Virginia |
| Salary |
| Associates: $243,842[9] |
| Judicial Selection |
| Method: Direct legislative appointment |
| Term: 12 years |
| Active justices |
| Teresa M. Chafin, S. Bernard Goodwyn, D. Arthur Kelsey, Thomas P. Mann, Stephen R. McCullough, Cleo Powell, Wesley G. Russell Jr. |
Founded in 1776, the Virginia Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Bernard Goodwyn. In 2018, the court decided 1,697 cases.
As of August 2022, one judge on the court was appointed by a Democratic governor and six were appointed by the General Assembly. Bernard Goodwyn was appointed to a pro tempore term by Tim Kaine before the legislature confirmed him to a full term.
The court is located in Richmond, Virginia directly across the street from the Virginia Capitol building.[10]
In Virginia, state supreme court justices are selected through direct legislative appointment. Justices are appointed directly by the state legislature. There are two states that use this selection method. To read more about the legislative appointment of judges, click here.
About Justice Lemons
- See also: Donald Lemons
Justice Donald Lemons joined the Virginia Supreme Court in 2000. He was elected to a 12-year term by the Virginia General Assembly on March 8, 2000, which commenced on March 16, 2000. He was chosen to fill the vacancy created by former Justice A. Christian Comptons' retirement. After his peers elected him to the post, Lemons served as chief justice from January 1, 2015, until he stepped down effective December 31, 2021.[3]
Before being elected to the supreme court, Lemons served as a judge at various levels of the Virginia judiciary, including on the Court of Appeals, the 13th Judicial Circuit Court, and the general district court. His career experience outside of the judiciary includes working as a probation officer, an assistant dean, and a law professor at several law schools.[3]
Lemons earned a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Virginia in 1970 and 1976, respectively.[3]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2022
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2022
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2022. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2021.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Richmond Times-Dispatch, "General Assembly elects two Supreme Court justices," June 17, 2022
- ↑ ABC 8 News, "Chief Justice of Virginia Supreme Court plans to retire on Feb. 1," December 22, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Virginia Appellate Court History, "Wesley G. Russell, Jr.," accessed August 5, 2022 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 4.0 4.1 Commonwealth of Virginia Division of Legislatie Services, "A Legislator's Guide to the Judicial Selection Process," accessed April 16, 2025
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed August 18, 2021
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed August 18, 2021
- ↑ Commonwealth of Virginia Division of Legislative Services, Judicial Selection Overview, accessed April 16, 2025
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed August 18, 2021
- ↑ The salary of the chief justice may be higher than an associate justice.
- ↑ Virginia's Judicial System, "Supreme Court of Virginia," accessed August 19, 2021
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Federal courts:
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia
State courts:
Virginia Supreme Court • Virginia Court of Appeals • Virginia Circuit Courts • Virginia District Courts • Virginia Magistrates
State resources:
Courts in Virginia • Virginia judicial elections • Judicial selection in Virginia
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