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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>54219</law_id><section_number>17.1-303</section_number><catch_line>Election of successor justice before date of vacancy</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="17.1">Courts of Record</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="3">Supreme Court</unit><unit label="article" level="3" order_by="1" identifier="1">Composition, Jurisdiction, etc</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>Whenever a vacancy occurs or exists in the office of a justice of the Supreme <span class="dictionary">Court</span> while the General Assembly is in session, or whenever the term of office of a justice of the Supreme <span class="dictionary">Court</span> will expire or the office will be vacated at a date certain between the adjournment of the General Assembly and the commencement of the next session of the General Assembly, a successor may be elected at any time during a session preceding the date of such vacancy, by the vote of a majority of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly, for a full term and, upon qualification, the successor shall enter at once upon the discharge of the duties of the office; however, such successor shall not qualify prior to the predecessor leaving office. No person shall be elected or reelected to a subsequent term under this section until he has submitted to a criminal history record search and submitted to a search of the central registry maintained pursuant to &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Central registry; disclosure of information" href="/63.2-1515/">63.2-1515</a> for any founded complaint of child abuse or neglect and reports of such searches have been received by the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for <span class="dictionary">Courts</span> of Justice. If the person has not met the requirement of filing in the preceding calendar year a disclosure form prescribed in &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Disclosure form" href="/2.2-3117/">2.2-3117</a> or <a class="law" title="Disclosure form" href="/30-111/">30-111</a>, he shall also provide a written statement of economic interests on the disclosure form prescribed in &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Disclosure form" href="/2.2-3117/">2.2-3117</a> to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for <span class="dictionary">Courts</span> of Justice.</p></section></text><history>1991, c. 31, &#xA7; 17-93.1; 1998, c. 872; 2004, c. 452; 2018, c. 578.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
