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Local attorneys nominated for district judgeships
Date published: 4/18/2008
BY ELLEN BILTZ
The Fredericksburg Area Bar Association has recommended two attorneys from a local law firm to fill judicial vacancies in the area. V. James Ventura and Patricia Kelly, who work for Woodbridge, Ventura & Kelly are both currently substitute judges and are "very qualified nominees for judgeships," said Robert B. Goodall, the bar association's president. Goodall said he sent the letter of nomination to Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania and Del. William Howell, R-Stafford, yesterday afternoon. Ventura was backed for a general district court slot and Kelly for a juvenile and domestic relations court position. He said Houck asked the bar to make nominations for the two district positions because Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Joseph Ellis and General District Court Judge Overton Harris are expected to be appointed next week to serve as judges for the 15th Circuit. The General Assembly is responsible in Virginia for appointing judges. If the assembly does not appoint a judge before they end session, the governor can make a temporary appointment for a vacant judge seat until the assembly returns. Judgeship positions are often highly contested, even after the local bar's nomination, but Goodall said he had been told by Houck that both Ellis and Harris' appointments should be made without hesitation. Those appointments are expected next Wednesday during the General Assembly's veto session. And the positions left open by them, for which Ventura and Kelly are nominated, could be filled soon after. The death Wednesday of Circuit Court Judge John W. Scott Jr. creates another vacancy, but it has not yet been discussed by the bar, Goodall said. But, he said, the bar would eventually be going through its normal nomination process to recommend someone to fill that seat. Ellen Biltz: 540/374-5424
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