Collections

This series documents the court's actions on original jurisdiction and appealed cases after 2012. This series may include, but is not limited to: petitions, pleadings, opinions and orders.

The List of Attorneys Practicing in the Court of Appeals, 1869-1978, is a register of signatures of attorneys qualifying to practice in the Supreme Court of Virginia. Most entries include the date the year the oath was taken and the lawyer's residence (town, courthouse, county, or city). Beginning in 1907, each entry includes the date the attorney qualified.

Oral history interview with five of the ten judges who sat on the Court of Appeals of Virginia when it was founded in 1985: James W. Benton, Jr., Sam W. Coleman, III, Barbara M. Keenan, Lawrence W. Koontz, and Norman K. Moon. Moderated by Cassandra Newby-Alexander, Professor of History at Norfolk State University. Recorded at the Community Idea Staions in Richmond. Transcript available.

This series consists of individual case files that contain filings, briefs, correspondence and other supporting material in cases of original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court of Virginia has original jurisdiction in cases involving habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, and judicial censure, retirement or removal.

This series includes records and briefs for cases heard by the Supreme Court of Virginia. These records were filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court and copies forwarded to each justice for review and study before the cases were argued. Types of records may include brief of appellant, brief of appellee, reply briefs, reply briefs cross appellant, amicus briefs, petitions, and appendices.

The collection contains video recordings of judges' personal remembrances of Chief Justice Hassell, recorded at the Virginia Judicial Conference of Virginia in Roanoke, Virginia, in May 2011 and the Virginia Judicial Conference for District Court Judges in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in August 2011. Two additional interviews were recorded at the Supreme Court Building in Richmond in June 2011. Transcript available.

State Law Librarian Correspondence, 1932-1979, contains correspondence with Supreme Court of Appeals justices, 1932-1979, as follows: George L. Browning, 1932-1947; Archibald C. Buchanan, 1953-1964; Preston W. Campbell, 1935-1946; Herbert B. Gregory, 1933-1950; Henry Holt, 1935-1947; Edward W. Hudgins, 1931-1958, Willis D. Miller, 1952-1960, Lemuel F. Smith, 1952-1957; C. Vernon Spratley, 1936-1974, and Kennon C. Whittle, 1951-1965. Most of the correspondence pertains to justices' requests for reference materials from the library. A portion of the correspondence from the period 1932-1961, during Lloyd Richards' tenure as state law librarian, is more personal and contains additional information about the court and the justices.