Senate Approves Judicial Nomination of Elizabeth Dillon

The Western District of Virginia has a new judge.

Yesterday, the US Senate confirmed the nomination of Salem attorney Elizabeth Dillon to replace Judge Wilson, who retired in August.  Judge Dillon will be the first female judge in the Western District of Virginia.  Like her predecessor and the author of this blog, Judge Dillon is a graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law.

Dillon has been a practicing attorney in the Roanoke/Salem area for many years is also a former city attorney for the City of Roanoke.  President Obama nominated Dillon on September 18, 2014, after Virginia's two senators had recommended her and Ward Armstrong for the spot.  The Virginia Lawyers Weekly article about the confirmation is here.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has published Judge Dillon's answers to written questions submitted by Senators, including Senator Chuck Grassley and Senator Ted Cruz.  Many of the questions are overtly political and most of the answers are boilerplate, but there were some interesting parts.  For example, this is how Judge Dillon described the most important attribute of a judge:

"The most important attribute of a judge is to have the utmost respect for the tremendous responsibility of the position. A judge who recognizes and respects the responsibility of the position will respect the rule of law, the litigants, and the lawyers, and will serve with integrity, fairness, and impartiality. I have the utmost respect for the tremendous responsibility of the position and would be honored to serve should I be confirmed."

We are looking forward to Judge Dillon's tenure as the newest federal judge in the Western District of Virginia.

US Attorney Investigating Puckett Resignation

The Richmond Times Dispatch is reporting that the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia is investigating the recent and surprising resignation of state Senator Phillip Puckett.  There is a report of a grand jury convening in Abington to hear testimony on the matter.

Puckett's resignation gave the balance of power in the Virginia Senate to the Republicans who now hold a 20-19 advantage.  Prior to Puckett's resignation, the Senate was deadlocked, with the Lieutenant Governor, a Democrat, providing the tie breaking vote. 

Puckett stated that his decision to resign was motivated, in part, by Republican opposition to his daughter receiving a full-time appointment as a Juvenile and Domestic Relations judge.  She was not considered for that position, prior to Puckett's resignation, because of a belief that the Senate should not appoint judges who are family members of a sitting senator.

The Times Dispatch reports that Puckett's resignation may also have been tied to his appointment to the state tobacco commission.  Delegate Terry Kilgore, a Republican from Southwest Virginia and brother of former gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore, stated that he had spoken with Puckett before his resignation about taking a job with the commission.  Puckett says that he was never officially offered a job by the tobacco commission.

The Washington Post reports that Puckett has hired Thomas J. Bondurant Jr. to represent him.  Bondurant is a former federal prosecutor in WDVa.  I saw him in action many days when I was a law clerk for Judge Wilson.  He was always one of my favorite attorneys to watch.

Magistrate Judge Crigler's Last Day On The Job

As previously noted on this blog, today marks the last day on the job for Magistrate Judge Waugh Crigler.  Charlottesville's Daily Progress published a nice article today about his retirement and the simultaneous retirement of his judicial assistant Judy Pace.  Local attorneys will miss them both very much.  The article also explained that, while Judge Crigler's offices were based in Charlottesville, his (yet to be determined) replacement will be based in Harrisonburg.  This will mark the first time since 1978 that Charlottesville has not had a resident trial level judge.  Fourth Circuit judges do not count as trial judges (except, I guess, for the rare occasion when they act as trial judges, such as election redistricting cases).  Of course, district judges from Roanoke and Lynchburg frequently travel to Charlottesville, and less frequently Harrisonburg.  When I clerked for Judge Wilson in Roanoke, we would often travel to Harrisonburg for hearings and trials.  I particularly remember one interesting criminal case in Harrisonburg that resulted in the acquittal of all defendants.  Whoever the new magistrate judge is, he or she will frequently have to travel to the other divisions.  Such is the nature of  being a trial level judge in the Western District of Virginia.