Mary Grace O'Brien (born 1958) is a Judge of the

Virginia Court of Appeals 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 pa ...

Life and education

O'Brien was born in 1958 in

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. She received her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Le Moyne College Le Moyne College is a private Jesuit college mostly in DeWitt, New York. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1946, and named after Jesuit missionary Simon Le Moyne. Le Moyne was the first co-educational Jesuit college in the United Sta ...

and her

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Washington and Lee University School of Law The Washington and Lee University School of Law (W&L Law) is the law school of Washington and Lee University, a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia. It is accredited by the American Bar Association. Facilities are on the histo ...

Legal career

She clerked for the Honorable Roscoe B. Stephenson Jr. of 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 ...

for two years. Then Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert hired her in 1985. In 2001, she was elevated to the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court for PWC, and in 2008, she was elevated to be the first female Circuit Court Judge in the 31st Judicial Circuit.

Service on Virginia Court of Appeals

She was elected by the General Assembly on January 22, 2015, to an eight-year term beginning February 1, 2015. On June 15, 2015 she was invested as the 37th Judge of the Court of Appeals of Virginia. Her current term expires in on January 31, 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Mary Grace Living people 1958 births 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Judges of the Court of Appeals of Virginia Le Moyne College alumni Lawyers from Buffalo, New York Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women judges