Supreme Court Of Virginia Jobs and Profile

The Supreme Court of Virginia

The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the U.S. state of Virginia. It primarily hears appeals from the trial-level city and county Circuit Courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative law cases that go through the Court of Appeals of Virginia. It is one of the oldest continuously active judicial bodies in the United States. It was known as the Supreme Court of Appeals until 1970, when it was renamed the Supreme Court of Virginia.

The Virginia Judicial System

Article VI, Section 4, of the Constitution of Virginia places upon the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia the responsibility of supervising the administration of the entire court system of the Commonwealth. The Chief Justice may temporarily assign any judge of a circuit court to any other circuit court and may recall a retired circuit court judge to active duty. The Chief Justice may also designate a retired judge, an active district court judge, or an active circuit court judge, with his/her concent, to assist with a congested workload in any district. Other responsibilities of the Chief Justice include presiding over the various committees charged with improving the administration of justice in Virginia .

The Virginia judicial system is comprised of the Supreme Court, a Court of Appeals, circuit courts in thirty-one judicial circuits, general district and juvenile and domestic relations district courts in thirty-two districts, and magistrates in offices in thirty-two districts. Three advisory/administrative bodies have been created by the legislature to aid in the operation of the court system: the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission, the Judicial Council, and the Committee on District Courts.

The aim of the Virginia judicial system is to assure that disputes are resolved justly, promptly, and economically through a court system unified in its structures and administration. A competent staff of judges and court personnel, uniform rules and practices, and adequate funding are necessary to accomplish this function and to provide the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia with the best possible judicial system.

Court Organization

The Court organization consists of the Clerk of the Supreme Court, the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court, the Court Reporter, the Chief Staff Attorney of the Supreme Court, and the Law Librarian. The Clerk is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Supreme Court. The Clerk's Office receives, processes, and maintains permanent records of all appeals and other official documents filed with the Court. The Clerk also maintains records of qualified attorneys and other administrative records. The Executive Secretary is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Supreme Court. He must be a resident of the Commonwealth and during his term of office shall not engage in the private practice of law. The purpose of the office is to provide assistance to the Chief Justice in the administration of the judicial system. The Chief Staff Attorney is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Supreme Court. He supervises the law clerks on his staff. Each justice has a personal law clerk who, along with other assigned duties, assists with legal research and perfection of opinions. The Court Reporter is a distinguished member of the faculty of one of the law schools in Virginia . His main responsibility is to supervise the compilation, indexing, printing and publication of the written opinions of the Court in the Virginia Reports. There are over two hundred and fifty volumes of the Reports which, together with the Constitution of Virginia and the Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, form the body of law by which all Virginians are governed. The Law Librarian supervises a library of approximately 100,000 volumes for the use of the Court and the Bar.