Michael Joshua Lindner is a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

of the 19th Judicial Circuit General District Court of Virginia (

Fairfax Fairfax may refer to: Places United States * Fairfax, California * Fairfax Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Los Angeles, California * Fairfax District, Los Angeles, California, centered on Fairfax Avenue * Fairfax, Georgia * Fairfax, Indiana * Fa ...

), in the United States, elected February 25, 2015 by the Virginia Senate and the Virginia House of Delegates, for a 6-year term commencing July 1, 2015. His election was preceded by a selection process wherein candidates were evaluated by the Fairfax Bar Judicial Selection Committee which issued an

Executive Summary An executive summary (or management summary, sometimes also called speed read) is a short document or section of a document produced for business purposes. It summarizes a longer report or proposal or a group of related reports in such a way that ...

on his candidacy.

Education

He received a Bachelor of Arts in history from Kenyon College in 1981. A graduate of the American University Washington College of Law, Lindner was admitted to the Virginia State Bar in 2001.

Career

Despite success in producing computer video games at Legend Entertainment, Lindner switched careers and launched his own law firm in

in 2001, focusing primarily on criminal and traffic litigation. As a criminal defense attorney, he handled difficult cases such as homicide trials and representation of persons wrongly held in custody. He served as a substitute judge from 2010 to 2015 and presided over causes in General District and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District courts throughout Northern Virginia. He helped reinvigorate, and from 2012 to 2015, was Co-Chair of the Fairfax Bar Criminal Law Practice Section, serving for the first year in collaboration with

David Bernhard David Bernhard is an American jurist who is a trial judge of the Fairfax Circuit Court, elected February 23, 2017, by the Virginia Senate and the Virginia House of Delegates, for an 8-year term commencing July 1, 2017. Bernhard is the second i ...

. As a Judge, he has pioneered and promoted implementation of the model Veterans Treatment Docket program, and presided over its first graduates. The program takes a novel hybrid approach, integrating the resolution of criminal cases for criminally-involved veterans with mental health and substance abuse treatment and veteran mentorship. The program has not been without controversy, initially struggling to gain legislative support in the Virginia General Assembly. However, 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 administrative ...

enacted a rule regularizing the existence of such specialty dockets. Lindner's accomplishments both in private practice and as a judge, and perseverance in nurturing the Veterans Treatment Docket, resulted in him being named a "Leader in the Law" by

Virginia Lawyers Weekly ''Virginia Lawyers Weekly'' is a newspaper published in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It reports digests of recent court opinions handed down in Virginia’s state and federal courts. The paper also covers legal news and publishes ''Verdict ...

in 2016.

References

External links

Judge Michael J. Lindner
at

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Fairfax County General District Court website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindner, Michael J. 1959 births 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges American video game designers Living people Kenyon College alumni People from Fairfax County, Virginia Virginia lawyers Washington College of Law alumni