The Court of Appeals of Virginia, established January 1, 1985, is an

intermediate appellate court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

of 17 judges that hears appeals from decisions of Virginia's

circuit courts Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

and the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. The Court sits in panels of at least three judges, and sometimes hears cases

en banc In law, an ''en banc'' (; alternatively ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank''; ) session is when all the judges of a court sit to hear a case, not just one judge or a smaller panel of judges. For courts like the United States Courts of Appeal ...

. Appeals from the Court of Appeals go to the

Supreme Court of Virginia The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrativ ...

History

A 1971 Virginia Court System Study Commission stated the need for a unified court system to handle appeals.''Report of the Court System Study Commission to The Governor and The General Assembly of Virginia'', Virginia House Document No. 6 (1972 Regular Session) (1971) The Court of Appeals of Virginia was established on January 1, 1985, as an intermediate court of limited appellate jurisdiction, initially with ten judges, with an eleventh judge added in 2000. In March 2021, legislation was passed to expand the jurisdiction and composition of the Court from 11 judges to 17 judges, coming into effect July 1, 2021.

Judges

The Court of Appeals consists of 17 judges who are elected for eight-year terms by a majority of the members of each house of the General Assembly. The Court of Appeals may designate seven retired judges of the Court to serve as senior judges.

Jurisdiction

Reforms effective January 2022

As part of a comprehensive reform bill passed by the Virginia General Assembly and signed into law in March 2021, the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals expanded on January 1, 2022, as follows: * Litigants can now appeal as of right a lower court's decision in civil cases, and the Supreme Court of Virginia will retain the power to select which appeals it hears. * Criminal defendants can now appeal as of right a lower court's decision in criminal cases, but the Commonwealth will still need to petition the Court of Appeals if it wishes to appeal a decision in a criminal case. * The Court of Appeals now has jurisdiction to hear interlocutory appeals and petitions for review of injunctions. An appeal filed with the Supreme Court of Virginia before January 1, 2022, remains under its jurisdiction.

Procedure

Since January 1, 2022, when the court's jurisdiction expanded, most appeals are initiated by filing a timely notice of appeal in the tribunal whose order is being appealed and a copy with the clerk of the Court of Appeals. Decisions are issued by the Court of Appeals by written opinion or order.

Current composition

As of January 1, 2025:

Active

Senior

Chief judges

References

External links

A Short History of the Court of Appeals of Virginia

Frequently Asked Questions About the Court of Appeals of Virginia

* ttps://www.vacourts.gov/wpcau.htm Unpublished Court of Appeals of Virginia Opinions (since 3/5/2022)
Search Court of Appeals of Virginia Opinions

* ttps://eapps.courts.state.va.us/cav-public Search Court of Appeals of Virginia Case Status Information {{State Intermediate Appellate Courts

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Virginia state courts 1985 establishments in Virginia Courts and tribunals established in 1985