Recordings of the Virginia Supreme Court, 1969-2016

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888

Summary

Creator:
LVA
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

These recording include Supreme Court of Virginia and Court of Appeals of Virginia audio and video recordings of court ceremonies and oral history interviews, 1969-2015.

These recordings are available on the Library of Virginia's YouTube Channel. Click here to access: Video Recordings of the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Biographical / historical:

The Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia was created by an act of the General Assembly passed at the May 1779 session and has continued to the present day. Its antecedent was the General Court, which, after it was reestablished under the constitution of 1776, shared appellate jurisdiction with the Supreme Court until 1851, when the new state constitution abolished the General Court. Prior to that date the General Court had criminal jurisdiction, while the Supreme Court was restricted to civil cases. While the court now has concurrent original jurisdiction in issuing and hearing writs of habeas corpus, mandamus and prohibition, retirement, removal, and matters of judicial censure, its jurisdiction is almost exclusively appellate. An act of the General Assembly passed on March 16, 1971 changed the name of the court to the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Justices are elected by a majority vote of both houses of the General Assembly for a term of twelve years. Vacancies on the court occuring between sessions of the General Assembly may be filled by the Governor for a term expiring thirty days after the commencement of the next session of the General Assembly. By statute, the Chief Justice is chosen by a majority vote of the seven justices.

By statute, the court may designate a retired justice to serve as Senior Justice for a renewable one year term. Senior Justices sit with the court during regular sessions hearing writs and sitting on merit cases, especially when an active member of the court is recused from hearing a particular case.

The Court of Appeals of Virginia was established on January 1, 1985. It provides appellate review of final decisions of the circuit courts in domestic relations matters, appeals from decisions of an administrative agency, traffic infractions and criminal cases, except where a sentence of death has been imposed. It also hears appeals of final decisions of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. Except in those cases where the decision of the Court of Appeals is final, any party aggrrieved by a decision of the Court of Appeals may petition the Supreme Court for an appeal. The Court of Appeals consists of eleven judges. The court sits in panels of at least three judges, and the membership of the panels is rotated. The court sits at such locations as the chief judge designates, so as to provide convenient access to the various geographic areas of the Commonwealth.

related to individuals documented in this collection (in alphabetical order):

George Steven Agee served on the Supreme Court of Virginia, 2003-2008, at which time he was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Prior to that he was a judge on the Court of Appeals of Virginia, 2001-2003, and served in the House of Delegates, 1982-1994.

Judge Rosemarie Annunziata (b. 1940) served on the Court of Appeals of Virginia, 1995-2005, and as a senior judge on the court from 2005 to 2015. She was a circuit court judge in Fairfax County from 1989 to 1995.

Robert N. Baldwin was Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia from January 1, 1976, until his retirement on March 31, 2005. He was Assistant Secretary from 1974 to 1975. Robert Baldwin was born and raised in Roanoke, Virginia. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond and then a law degree from the University of Richmond Law School. He served two years in the Army and taught law at the University of Richmond for two years before moving to the Supreme Court of Virginia.

David Beach was Clerk of the Supreme Court of Virginia, 1984-2003.

Judge James W. Benton, Jr. (b. 1944) was appointed to the Court of Appeals of Virginia in 1985 and retired in 2007. A native of Norfolk, Benton attended public schools there and participated in civil rights demonstrations while he was in high school. He earned an undergraduate degree from Temple University and a law degree from the University of Virginia. He worked for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in Richmond and was a partner at the Richmond law firm of Hill, Tucker Marsh prior to joining the Court of Appeals.

John Thomas (Jack) Bruce (b. 1951) became Chief Staff Attorney for the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1978. Before that, he was a clerk in the office of Robert Irons, Special Assistant to the Supreme Court of Virgina, and also practiced law in Norfolk Virginia. A native of Norfolk, he graduated from the College of William and Mary and earned a law degree from the University of Richmond.

Justice Harry Lee Carrico (1916-1913) was appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1961, and was Chief Justice, 1981-2003, when he took senior status. Before joining the court, he was a lawyer and judge in Fairfax County. Carrico was born in Washington, D.C. and reared in rural Fauquier and Fairfax counties. He was an ensign in the Navy during World War II.

Justice George M. Cochran (1912-2011) served on the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1969 to 1987. A life long resident of Staunton, he was a member of the House of Delegates,1948-1966, and the Virginia Senate, 1966-1968.

Judge Samuel W. Coleman (b. 1940) served on the Supreme Court of Appeals, 1985-2001. He served as a senior (retired) judge from 2001-2010 and 2013 to present. Coleman was born in Kingsport, TN, and grew up in Gate City, VA, where he attended public schools. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and a law degree from Washington and Lee University. He practiced law in Gate City until he was elected circuit court judge in the Thirteenth Circuit (Lee, Scott, and Wise Counties). In 1985, Coleman was elected to the first Court of Appeals of Virginia.

William T. Coleman (b. 1920) was a distinguished lawyer and lead strategist for the NAACP in the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954. He was president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and director of the executive committee of the NAACP National Legal Committee. Coleman served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation, 1975-1977, and was the second African American to hold a Cabinet position.

Justice A. Christian Compton (1929-2006) served on the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1975 to 2000.

Judge Walter S. Felton, Jr. (b. 1944) was appointed to the Court of Appeals of Virginia in 2002 and he retired in 2014. He served as chief judge from 2006 to 2014. A native of Suffolk, Felton attended public schools there, and college and law school at the University of Richmond. He practiced law in Suffolk, taught law at the College of William and Mary, and worked in the Office of the Attorney General and the office of Governor James S. Gilmore before he was appointed to the court.

Judge Johanna L. Fitzpatrick (b. 1946) served on the Court of Appeals of Virginia from 1992 to 2006. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, she attended Tufts University and earned a law degree from Catholic University. She began working for the Fairfax Legal Aid Society in 1974. In 1980 she was elected judge of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Fairfax County, making her the second woman elected judge in Virginia. In 1982, Fitzpatrick was elected circuit court judge in Fairfax County.

Judge Robert P. Frank (b. 1944) served on the Court of Appeals of Virginia from 2005 to 2012, when he took senior status. He was born and raised in Newport News, Virginia. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Virginia and then practiced law with his brother in Newport News from 1968 to 1986, when he was elected judge of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, Seventh Judicial Circuit in Newport News.

Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn was appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia in 2007.

Judge James W. Haley, Jr. (b. 1942) served on the Court of Appeals of Virginia from 2005-2012, when he took senior status. He was born in Washington, DC and was raised in Arlington, Virginia. Haley attended Washington and Lee University and the University of Virginia School of Law. He was a law clerk for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia John W. Eggleston, 1967-1968, and then worked as an assistant commonwealth's attorney in Arlington County. He practiced law in Fredericksburg and was County Attorney for King George County. In 1985, he was elected general district judge in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, and in 1989 because a circuit court judge in the same ciruit. He was elected to the Court of Appeals of Virginia in 2005.

Justice Alexander M. Harman, Jr. (1921-1996), served on the Supreme Court of Virginia, 1969-1979. Prior to that, he worked in private practice in Pulaski, Va., and was appointed as judge of the 21st Judicial Circuit of Virginia. He was a native of West Virginia and received his undergraduate degree from Concord College and his J.D. from the Wahington and Lee School of Law.

Justice Albertis Sydney Harrison, Jr., served on the Supreme Court of Virginia, 1968-1981. Prior to that he served in the Senate of Virginia, 1948-1958; was elected Attorney General of Virginia, 1958-1961; and then Governor of Virginia, 1962-1966. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Leroy Rountree Hassell, Sr. (1955-2011), was appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1989 and served until his death in 2011. He was elected to a four-year term as Chief Justice in 2003 and reelected in 2007. He was the first African American to serve as Chief Justice.

Judge William H. Hodges (b. 1929) served on the Court of Appeals of Virginia from 1985-1989. He was a state delegate, 1962-1966, and a state senator, 1966-1972, when he was elected as a circuit court judge. He practiced law in Norfolk and Chesapeake from 1960-1972. He continued to serve as a substitute judge after he retired in 1989.

Frederick A. Hodnett, Jr. (b. 1944) began work for the Supreme Court of Virginia as Deputy Executive Secretary in 1973 and was Assistant Executive Secretary from 1976-2006. A native of Abingdon, Virginia, he graduated from the University of Richmond and earned a law degree from the University of Virginia.

Justice Barbara Milano Keenan (b. 1950) served on the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1991 to 2010, when was confirmed as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Previously she was a judge on the Court of Appeals of Virginia from 1985 to 1991. She was the first woman to serve as a circuit and appellate court judge in Virginia.

Justice D. (Denham) Arthur Kelsey (b. 1961) has served on the Supreme Court of Virginia since 2015. Previosly he served on the Court of Appeals of Virginia from 2002-2015. He was born in Norfolk, Va., and graduated from Old Dominion University and received his law degree from the College of William and Mary.

Cynthia Dinah Fannon Kinser was appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1997. She was elected Chief Justice in 2010 and was the first woman to serve in this capacity.

Justice Lawrence L. Koontz, Jr. (b. 1940) served on the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1995 to 2011, when he took senior status. He was one of ten judges who served on the first Court of Appeals of Virginia in 1985 and served on that court until 1995. He was the second chief judge of the court, serving from 1985 to 1993. From 1976 to 1984, Koontz was a circuit court judge in the 23rd judicial circuit in Roanoke; from 1968 to 1976, he was a juvenile and domestic relations judge in the general distict court in Roanoke.

Justice Elizabeth B. Lacy (b. 1945) served on the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1989 to 2007, when she took senior status. She was the first woman to serve on the court, the first woman to serve as Deputy Attorney General in Virginia, and the first woman to as a judge on the State Corporation Commission. Lacy was born in South Carolina and grew up in Wisconsin. She worked in Texas as as an Assistant Attorney General and Division Chief (1972-1976) before moving to Virginia. She was Virginia Deputy Attorney General overseeing civil litigation (1982-1985) and Judge, State Corporation Commission (1985-1989).

Allen L. Lucy (b. 1917) was Deputy Clerk of the Supreme Court of Virgina, 1952-1977, and Clerk, 1977-1984. Before coming to the Supreme Court of Virginia, he was Deputy Clerk of the city of Richmond Law and Equity Courts. Lucy was born in Richmond, graduated from John Marshall High School in 1935, and graduated from Smithfield-Massey Business College in Richmond in 1936.

Elizabeth A. McClanahan was appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia in 2011. Previously, she was judge on the Court of Appeals of Virginia, 2003-2011.

Henry Marsh (b. 1933) is a civil rights lawyer and politician. He joined with Samuel Tucker to form the the law firm of Tucker and Marsh in Richmond in 1954. They were later joined by Oliver Hill to form the Hill, Tucker and Marsh firm in 1965. As an attorney, Marsh focused on employment discrimination and school desegregation cases. Marsh was elected mayor of Richmond in 1977 and Virginia State Senator in 1991. He was the first African American elected mayor of Richmond. Marsh served in the U.S. Army from 1959-1961.

William T. Mason, Jr. (b. 1926) was a civil rights attorney in Norfolk who worked with civil rights attorney Oliver Hill in the 1950s and was appointed by Robert Kennedy to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Mason was one of the first African American lawyers appointed to the U.S. Attorney's Office from the South.

Leroy F. Millette was sworn in as a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia in 2008. Prior to that he served on the Court of Appeals of Virginia, 2008 February-August.

William C. Mims was elected to the Supreme Court of Virginia on March 10, 2010. Previously he was Chief Deputy Attorney General under Attorney General Robert McDonnell, and Attorney General following McDonnell's resignation to campaign for Governor.

Judge Norman K. Moon (b. 1936) served on the Court of Appeals of Virginia, 1985-1997, and served as Chief Judge, 1993-1997. Prior to that, he worked in private practice until appointed as judge of the 24th Judicial Circuit of Virginia in 1974. He left the Court of Appeals of Virginia when appointed as Judge, U.S. District for the Western District of Virginia, where he served 1997-2010. Moon is a native of Lynchburg and received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Virginia.

Mary Grace O'Brien joined the Court of Appeals of Virginia in 2015. Prior to that she served as a judge on the 31st Judicial Circuit of Virginia. She received her undergraduate degree from Le Moyne College and her J.D. from the Washington and Lee School of Law.

Cleo Elaine Powell was appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia in 2011. She served on the Court of Appeals of Virginia, 2008-2011. Powell was the first African American woman appointed to an appellate court in Virginia.

Justice Charles S. Russell (b. 1926) served on the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1982 to 1981. He returned to the court as a senior justice in 2004. Russell practiced law in Arlington and Fairfax from 1951 to 1967, and was appointed judge for the 17th Judicial District in 1967. From 1967 to 1982 Russell was a circuit court judge in Fairfax County. Russell was born in Richmond, Virginia, and served in the U.S. Navy in World War I and in the Korean War.

Justice Roscoe B. Stephenson (1922-2011) served on the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1981 to 1997, when he took senior status. A lifelong resident of Covington, Va., Stephenson practiced law there and was Alleghany County Commonwealth's Attorney and a judge on the 25th judicial circuit befor his appointment to the Supreme Court.

Justice John Charles Thomas (b. 1950) served on the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1983 to 1989. He was the youngest person ever appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia (32) and the first African American to serve on the court. A native of Norfolk, Thomas graduated from the University of Virginia law school in 1975 and worked at Hunton and Williams law firm in Richmond, where he became the first African American to be named partner in a law firm in the South. When Thomas resigned from the Supreme Court in 1989, he returned to private practice at Hunton and Williams.

Justice W. Carrington (William Carrington) Thompson (1915-2011) served on the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1980 to 1983. A native of Chatham, Virginia, he attended law school at the University of Virginia and established a law practice in Chatham after returning from service in the Navy during World War II. Thompson served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1959 to 1968 and the Virginia Senate from 1968 to 1973. He was a circuit judge before his appointment to the Supreme Court.

Judge Phillip Trompeter (b. 1952) was appointed to the Roanoke County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in 1983. Prior to that, he worked on revisions to the Code of Virginia related to mental health issues. He was born and raised in Roanoke, Va., and attended New York University, where he received a B.A. degree in 1974. He earned a J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law in 1977.

Justice Henry Hudson Whiting (b. 1923) served on the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1987 to 1995, when he took senior status. Whiting was born in Fort Logan, Colorado, and spent most of his youth in Winchester, Virginia. He atteneded Virginia Tech for one year before enlisting in the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war, he attended the University of Virginia and earned a law degree in 1949. He practices law in Winchester for much of his career. In 1980 Whiting was appointed to the 28th Judicial Circuit by Governor John Dalton; in 1987 he was elected by the General Assembly to the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Acquisition information:
Accession 51854, transferred on 28 June 2016.
Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into the following series:

  • Series I. Video recordings of court ceremonies, 1991-2016
  • Series II. Audio recordings of court ceremonies, 1969-2005
  • Series III. Video recordings of Supreme Court of Virginia Oral History Interviews, 2007-2015
  • Series IV. Video recordings of Court of Appeals of Virginia Oral History Interviews, 2009-2015
  • Series V. Video recordings of miscellaneous oral history interviews, 2008-2009
  • Series VI. Remembrances of Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell, Sr., 2011
  • Series VII. Memorial resolutions honoring Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell, Sr., 2011
  • Series VIII. Miscellaneous court video recordings, 1989-2010
Physical description:
81 video recordings and 22 audio recordings