Governor gives lawmakers leeway to fill judicial posts

RICHMOND

Lawmakers will have another chance this year to compromise on judicial candidates for open seats on several Hampton Roads courts, if they choose to act.

They left the appointment of judges in Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Hampton to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine after failing to reach a compromise before their regular session ended last week.

Also left for Kaine is an opening on the State Corporation Commission that legislators didn't fill because of the legislative stalemate.

This month, the governor will gather information about individuals interested in becoming judges and recommendations from bar associations, said Kaine spokesman Gordon Hickey.

But Kaine is not expected to announce his picks before calling legislators back to Richmond for a special session in June to tackle transportation funding. Legislators will also have the opportunity to make judicial appointments.

"It's very prudent and a positive sign that the governor is going to wait and give the legislature one more chance to come to our senses and elect judges," said Del. Bill Janis, R-Henrico County, who has worked to broker a deal on judges.

Were Kaine to make interim appointments before legislators return, the General Assembly could force those judges off the bench by refusing to confirm them within 30 days, Janis said.

If lawmakers again fail to elect judges, Kaine could fill open Circuit Court seats and the SCC post. Vacancies on General District and Juvenile and Domestic Relations courts would be filled by Circuit Court judges.

Those interim appointments would be up for consideration by the General Assembly next year.

The judge fights were one of the running story lines of the 2008 General Assembly session, typified by political skirmishes between Republicans and Democrats, who hold a two-seat majority in the state Senate.

Many of the roughly 30 judicial openings were filled by legislators last month, but a few unoccupied seats remain.

Friction between Sens. Yvonne Miller, D-Norfolk, and Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, has stalled the election of Circuit Court judges in their home cities.

Miller, who has insisted on picking the person to fill an open Virginia Beach Circuit Court seat, said she remains open to compromise.

"My hope is that legislators will be able to resolve issues together... but my mother taught me a rule that works for me. She said, 'Expect the best but prepare for the worst,' " Miller said Thursday.

Stolle and other Republicans who view Miller as meddling in Virginia Beach have blocked the election of three Norfolk Circuit Court judges.

Meanwhile, the House of Delegates scuttled three Hampton judicial candidates when the Senate didn't name Kathy G. Owens, sister of Del. Tom Gear, R-Hampton, to a seat on the city Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com