The General Assembly met today to fill some of the judgeships that had been left vacant.
In a July 21, 2011 letter to the leadership of both chambers, Governor Bob McDonnell gently reminded them of their “failure to timely complete redistricting and adjourn sine die.” In particular, the governor mention the difficulty of having substitute and retired judges working. “I am prepared to perform my constitutional duties and appoint justices to the Virginia Supreme Court and judges to fill the several other trial court vacancies,” the governor wrote.
That was enough to get them back to Richmond 😉
Appointed today were two justices to the Supreme Court (12-year terms):
- Judge Cleo E. Powell, the first African American woman to serve, previously served on the Court of Appeals
- Judge Elizabeth McClanahan, a former Chief Deputy Attorney General and also of the Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals judges appointed (8-year terms):
- Steve McCullough, a former Solicitor General of Virginia
- Glen Huff, a member of the Virginia Beach law firm (and the governor’s old firm) Huff, Poole & Mahoney
Circuit Court judges appointed:
- Glen Crowshaw, former delegate from Virginia Beach
- W. Revell Lewis, III, an Accomack attorney
- Richard Y. AtLee, Jr.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
“adjourn since die”?
What’s that?
A typo, which is what happens when you get interrupted 15 times while typing. Same thing with the description of Judge Cleo Powell. She is the first AA woman to serve, not the first AA.
Thanks.
Although technically, as it turns out, Powell is the first AA appointed by the General Assembly to the court. The previous AA – men – were all appointed by governors.