Wheels of justice grind slower over shortage of judges

A shortage of judges at several Hampton Roads courthouses is clogging the legal system in a region that is already home to some of the busiest courts in Virginia.

Retirements and other departures have left several local courts short-handed, spreading a heavy workload among fewer judges. Those vacancies remain open because the General Assembly this year failed to name replacements.

The impact of the shortage is difficult to measure, courthouse officials said.

"The number of cases scheduled daily has been reduced," said Cynthia P. Morrison, clerk of Portsmouth Circuit Court, a bustling courthouse where the "criminal and civil caseload keeps five courtrooms busy every day of the week."

Portsmouth is down one of its five judges after former Chief Judge Mark S. Davis of the Circuit Court was elevated to the federal bench.

Similarly, Virginia Beach Circuit Court is short one of its nine judges after a retirement earlier this year. The remaining eight Beach judges each have taken on about 40 extra cases per week, said Chief Judge Frederick Lowe of the Virginia Beach Circuit Court.

Perhaps the hardest hit is Norfolk Circuit Court, which is down one-third of its nine judges.

Roughly 18,000 cases move through Norfolk Circuit Court annually, ranking it first statewide this year in felony cases and second in civil matters.

"You can do the math," said George Schaefer, clerk of the Norfolk Circuit Court. "With nine judges, that's 2,000 cases a year; with six judges, it's 3,000."

Schaefer admits it's not quite that simple because Norfolk, as other courts, has used retired judges as substitutes when possible.

"But there's still the same number of cases, and the work's still got to get done," he said, likening the court's situation to a school relying on substitute teachers.

"Does as much get accomplished with a substitute teacher as it does with a permanent teacher? No. "

Not only can criminal defendants sit in jail longer, the judge shortage also slows the adjudication of civil petitions to dissolve businesses and marriages and actions in child custody cases, according to court officials.

"It's a considerable inconvenience to a number of people," said Chief Judge Everett Martin of the Norfolk Circuit Court.

A crowded docket has a "snowball effect, and not just with criminal matters, but all matters of the court," said Tina Sinnen, clerk of the Virginia Beach Circuit Court.

Lawyers who practice in those courts haven't felt the pinch as much but admit there is a noticeable difference.

"Our full complement is a baseball team with nine judges, and so far we're doing OK playing with eight," said Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant. "But you don't want to do that for a full season."

Norfolk defense lawyer B. Thomas Reed said the biggest impact he's seen is delayed criminal sentencing.

Reed said he is disappointed "that politics is getting in the way" of appointing judges.

About 16 vacancies remain on courts across the state.

Unresolved disputes among legislators over naming judges are both partisan and parochial. One of the more pronounced rifts is between state Sens. Yvonne Miller, D-Norfolk, and Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia Beach.

Beach Republicans, led by Stolle, have blocked the appointment of judges in Norfolk in response to Miller's insistence that her judicial pick be named to the Beach opening.

Miller, who feels she has been excluded from the judge-selection process for years, wants General District Judge Gene Woolard to get the Circuit Court seat.

Beach Republicans favor Virginia Beach City Attorney Les Lilley.

In Norfolk, the GOP delegation has blocked the appointments of Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney Jack Doyle and Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Jerrauld Jones to Circuit Court judgeships.

One effect of Miller's decision to block a deal on judges is that it may be holding up the selection of the first black constitutional officer in Norfolk in more than a decade. Nearly half of the city's residents are black.

Greg Underwood, a senior deputy commonwealth's attorney, emerged as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination to replace Doyle as the commonwealth's attorney if he becomes a judge. Had Doyle been named a judge in the special session that ended last month, the election would have been held in November.

Had Underwood been elected under that scenario, he would have become the first black constitutional officer in Norfolk since 1993.

In the meantime, relief for courts is expected in the coming weeks because Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, who is empowered to pick certain judges under these circumstances, has said he will fill judicial openings.

Those appointments could be short-lived.

If the legislature fails to confirm Kaine's appointments early next year, those interim judges would be removed from their posts and the General Assembly would have to try again to resolve its judge fight.

 Pilot staff writer Harry Minium contributed to this article.

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