House/Senate Announcement for Judicial Vetting for Court of Appeals of Virginia

Court of Appeals of Virginia

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair John Edwards and House Courts of Justice Committee Chair Charniele Herring have released the following letter regarding the process for vetting for seven vacancies on the Court of Appeals of Virginia.

Interested applicants should apply for vetting as set forth in the letter.

Court of Appeals of Virgini... by Scott A. Surovell

Weekly Column: Historic Budget Supports Health Care, Teachers, Police and More

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, and Potomac Local in the week of June 3, 2018.

Historic Budget Supports Health Care, Teachers, Police and More

                Last week, the Virginia legislature, with my support, took several major steps forward. First, we agreed to expand Medicaid, health insurance for disabled and low-income Americans, so that now, over 36,000 people in the 36^th Senate District receive their health care from Medicaid.  This includes over 24,000 children, children whose parents now have no health care.  Starting January 1, 2019, that will change.                  

                Medicaid expansion will provide health care to between 300,000 and 400,000 Virginians and create 30,000 new jobs, many of which will be right here in eastern Fairfax, Prince William and Stafford Counties.  It will also save taxpayers $180,000,000 every two years by shifting charity care at state teaching hospitals and prison health care to Medicaid.  All of us pay for uninsured people who must resort to costly hospital emergency rooms for their care.  Providing Medicaid coverage can help people avoid hospital emergency rooms for non-emergency care and will help limit insurance premium increases.

Weekly Column: A State Budget, A Federal Grand Jury, and Court Challenges

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette and The Mt. Vernon Voice in the week of June 24, 2014.

A State Budget, A Federal Grand Jury, and Court Challenges

The last two weeks in Richmond have been unusually busy.  

First, ethics are back at the forefront.  in the wake of the resignation of State Senator Phil Puckett and change in control of the State Senate, the new state budget was written under one-party control.  A $1.6 billion shortfall due to lagging income tax collections forced cuts which I detailed two weeks ago:  K-12, higher education, affordable housing, healthcare, and funding for continued planning for improvements on U.S. 1 was removed from the budget.

Last week, press reports suggest a Federal grand jury was summoned to investigate the resignation of Senator Puckett and allegations that a judgeship for this thirty-three year-old daughter and a six-figure job at the Virginia Tobacco Commission were offered in exchange for his resignation. The lack of any state investigation spotlights the weakness of the ethics reforms we just passed.  

Judicial Selection: Gaming the System

Yesterday, something happened that really gave me a headache because it undermines people's trust in government.

One of the functions the Virginia General Assembly serves that gets little attention from the general public but has a significant impact is the selection of judges.  If you need a divorce - they decide where your kids live, who gets property, and how much support is paid.  They decide if people get executed or not.  They rule on all kinds of matters that affect people's lives.  It is critical that we get bright, capable, even-tempered, and experienced people on the bench.  Not simply people who have the best political connections. 

Virginia's system is unique - the General Assembly elects judges.  There are rules in place in case a retirement occurs while we are not in session.  If the vacancy is in Circuit Court or an appellate court, then the Governor can make a recess appointment.  In a General District Court or Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court position, then the local Circuit Court appoints a replacement.  Appellate and Circuit Court judges are elected to eight year terms.  District Court judges to six year terms.

Weekly Column: Movie Star Tax Credits, A Gay Judge & The Session Ends

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, the Mt. Vernon Voice and Patch in the week of May 14, 2012

Movie Star Tax Credits, A Gay Judge and the Session Ends 

Well, it’s over. The 2012 General Assembly ended on May 15, 2012 at 2:00 a.m. after a 13-hour House of Delegates’ session involving 117 of Governor Bob McDonnell’s amendments and the election of 40 judges. It was a fitting end to a very contentious session.

The day was not without controversy. This year, we authorized a bonus and raises for state employees for the first time in five years to be funded with unanticipated revenues.  These state employees include state troopers, corrections employees and people who work for the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC), Department of Transportation (VDOT), judges, court clerks, game wardens, and colleges. On a zero to 95 vote, the House of Delegates rejected the Governor’s proposal to allow raises only if employees could find millions of dollars of cuts in 45 days.

Chief Justice Hassell Dies

Yesterday, Chief Justice Leroy Hassell passed away.

Justice Hassell grew up from humble beginnings in Norfolk and went on to attend Harvard Law School. He turned down a Rhodes Scholarship.

After practicing at McGuire Woods, he was appointed as the first African American Chief Justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia. He was appointed by Governor Gerald Baililes in 1989 at age 34. He served as Chief Justice from 2003-2011.

I have argued appeals to Justice Hassell on several occasions. In my first appearance before him in 1999, I asked the Court to accept an appeal of a case involving fraud in the sale of a $4,500 car. I have a vivid memory of my opposing counsel trying to minimize what his client had done and Justice Hassell cutting him off and reminding him that fraud was a very serious, nearly criminal matter and that having adequate remedies for fraud was a very important deal to him. I went on to lose my appeal with Justice Hassell in dissent, but his passion for justice was undeniable.

He passed away at age 55.

Three New Fairfax Circuit Court Judges

Tonight, the Fairfax County Delegation met to select three people to serve as our new Fairfax County Circuit Court Judges. I discussed the process in an earlier post this weekend and the importance of selecting capable and qualified people to serve on our bench.

The three individuals selected were the following:

Michael J. Devine

Brett A. Kassabian

Hon. Lorraine Nordlund

We had an extremely competitive field and it took us over five hours to reach a decision. The results reaffirm the value in the bipartisan merit-based process used in Fairfax County which has the finest Circuit Court bench in the Commonwealth. We look forward to their service to Fairfax County in these very important positions.

Judge Pickin' Time in Fairfax

Judge selection is a fundamental prerogative of the Virginia Legislature. It is also very important. Over a million people travel through the Fairfax County Courthouse every year alone. Judges mediate disputes regarding right and wrong, life and death, and decide matters are personal as where a child should live or have a guardian appointed to manage their affairs. Selecting high quality individuals with the right mix of knowledge, skill, temperament, and judgment is critically important to ensure that mistakes are avoided, citizens feel like they had a fair hearing, and most importantly - that the right result was reached.

Unless you are a Virginia attorney, you are probably not very familiar with how someone becomes a judge in Virginia. It is actually fairly unique as things go in the United States. Only two states in the United States give the legislature final authority on judges - Virginia & South Carolina. The American Judicature has some interesting summary information on Virginia's process. Some states have partisan or non-partisan elections, independent commissions, nomination and confirmation, or combinations. This article summarizes systems across the U.S and here is a table. While Virginia's process suffers from flaws, my impression is that in general, it works pretty well (at least in Fairfax County).

Virginia's judges are elected by the General Assembly. Appellate judges - The Supreme Court of Virginia, the Court of Appeals, and the State Corporation Commission Judges - are picked by the entire House & Senate. Local judges - Circuit Court, General District Court, and Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Courts - are technically picked by the entire House and Senate, but the majority parties defer to their local delegations on local choices. The various bar associations typically vet and review the candidates. In Fairfax there are five bar associations that review candidates (Fairfax Bar Association, Women, African-American, Asian and Hispanic Bar Associations) and the Fairfax Bar Association has an endorsement election. If the Assembly cannot or does not act, the Governor can appoint an individual until the next General Assembly session.

Fairfax County also has a unique bipartisan system that was created in the 1980's by former Mount Vernon State Senator Joe Gartlan. In most jurisdictions, the delegates from the majority party in each chamber select (Republicans in the House and Democrats in the Senate). In Fairfax County, the entire House and Senate delegation meet as a group, consider the local bar reviews, Fairfax Bar Association election results, input from constituents and others, and interview the candidates. We vote as a group (one elected, one vote) and whoever gets the majority of votes, gets the recommendation. After the Republicans took control of the legislature in 1999, the Republicans continued this system in Fairfax in deference to the old system and the Democrats giving them a role in the process when they were in the minority.

On Monday night, we are selecting three new judges for the Fairfax County Circuit Court. This important for a number of reasons. The Circuit Court is the highest Court in Fairfax County hearing disputes ranging from $5,000 to $500,000,000, speeding tickets to capital murder, and from the administration of estates to issuing permanent injunctions. If a judge makes a mistake, the consequences can be enormous. Also, Fairfax County only has fifteen Circuit Court judges - Monday night we are appointing 1/5th of them.

What criteria am I using? The American Juridicature Society has a Chapter on suggested criteria. About a month ago, I was fortunate to meet Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg after one of my new constituents, an old friend from JMU Jim Scott, invited me to a reception at the U.S. Supreme Court. I actually asked her what criteria I should use. She said I should pick someone who was:

(1) Intelligent;
(2) Knew how to listen;
(3) Can speak and communicate well; and
(4) Has an appreciation of the real life consequences of their decisions.

Having practiced law at all levels of Virginia's Courts for 13 years, I would also say that possessing an even-keeled temperament is critical. Courtrooms can become very passionate environments and having someone who can keep a lid on things without also taking people's heads off every time is essential.

If you have any input for me on the current candidates, please send it along to my official email address at DelSSurovell@house.virginia.gov. I will post the results here on Tuesday morning.