House District 29: Special Election due to Judge Appointment

 

Many Virginians may be unaware that Delegate Chris Collins (R) representing the  29th House District comprising Fredrick, Winchester and Warren Counties in Northern Virginia has resigned from the legislature to assume the position of General District Court Judge in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Collins defeated Irina Khanin (D) rather handily in the 2019 election cycle. Khanin is the Democrat candidate for the special election scheduled November November 3, 2020. The Republicans have settled on Bill Wiley to represent the party to hold the seat that has remained Republicans for well over twenty year and held for long time by Beverly Sherwood before being defeated by Mark Berg in a primary battle in 2013. Bergs served on two year term before being ousted himself in a primary by Chris Collins in 2015.

The district has been solidly red for many years and is said to be one of the areas that the Democrats would like to redistrict given the conservative dominance.

The Collins elevation to the bench identifies yet another issue that Virginia faces. Not only has Virginia failed to add seats in its legislature to keep pace with population density where the Commonwealth as as many state legislators today with over 8 million residents as it it had in 1900 when it had just one million but the Commonwealth still does not permit the electorate to determine judicial appointments.

Typically what happens is the General Assembly selects or appoints Judges in Virginia. However, in the case in which a vacancy occurs and the Assembly is not in session than the Judge may be appointed by the corresponding circuit court judges or the Governor . In either case, Virginia voters do not determine the judges which make up the Virginia Judicial System. 

This process is written directly into the Virginia State Constitution. Judges must also reside in the circuit courts jurisdiction of which they sit and have been a member of the bar for at least five years and be a Virginia resident. This of course all creates and even greater  overly "political" atmosphere and almost country club setting in which legislators whom are lawyers appoint other lawyers they may know or have worked with.

 

Why is Virginia one of the few states that does not permit its voters to determine judges? The question comes around from time to time but is never more pertinent than today. If a political party gains total majority of the legislature they in effect can get total control of the judiciary over time though appointments. This is not unlike of course Supreme Court nominations. However, these nominations are far more public and with hearings before the people. The state appointments are far less transparent and often the people never know they are even taking place.

Virginia requires transformational change in the manner in which it undertakes the peoples business. The Assembly requires greater representation and the people require the ability to select its own judges independent of political positioning. 

These things require an reexamination of the Virginia State Constitution and need to get taken directly to the people.