Cleo Elaine Powell (born January 12, 1957) is a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. She was sworn in on October 21, 2011 for a term ending on July 31, 2023. Justice Powell is the first African-American female to serve on Virginia's highest Court and the fifth woman to serve on the Court. Born in Brunswick County, Virginia, she received an undergraduate degree from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

in 1979 and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1982. Powell served at every level of Virginia's judicial system as a judge, working as a General District Court Judge in

Chesterfield, Virginia Chesterfield is an unincorporated community that is the county seat of Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. It was a census-designated place (CDP) at the 2020 census. It was not delineated as a CDP for the 2010 census. The Chesterfield ...

and

Colonial Heights, Virginia Colonial Heights is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,170. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the City of Colonial Heights (along with the City of Petersburg) with Dinwiddie ...

from 1993 until 2000, a Circuit Court Judge in the same jurisdictions from 2000 until 2008, and on the

Court of Appeals of Virginia The Court of Appeals of Virginia, established January 1, 1985, is an intermediate appellate court of 17 judges that hears appeals from decisions of Virginia's circuit courts and the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. The Court sits in p ...

from 2008 until 2011. In 2013, Powell was honored as one of the Library of Virginia's "

Virginia Women in History Virginia Women in History was an annual program sponsored by the Library of Virginia that honored Virginia women, living and dead, for their contributions to their community, region, state, and nation. The program began in 2000 under the aegis of th ...

References

External links

Powell's biography
at the

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and ...

1957 births Living people African-American judges People from Brunswick County, Virginia University of Virginia alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia Judges of the Court of Appeals of Virginia 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women {{US-state-judge-stub

See also

References

External links