                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

JUDICIAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PROGRAM (§ 17.1-100)

A. The Supreme Court, by rule, shall establish and maintain a judicial
performance evaluation program that will provide a self-improvement mechanism
for judges and a source of information for the reelection process. By December 1
of each year, the Supreme Court, or its designee, shall transmit a report of the
evaluation in the final year of the term of each justice and judge whose term
expires during the next session of the General Assembly to the Chairmen of the
House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice. Such report shall include the
number of cases during the judge&#8217;s term in which a judge imposed a
sentence that is either greater or less than that indicated by the sentencing
guidelines and did not file a written explanation of such departure required
pursuant to subsection B of &#xA7; 19.2-298.01. The Virginia Criminal Sentencing
Commission shall provide such information to the Supreme Court by November 1.

B. The reporting requirement of this section shall become effective when funds
are appropriated for this program and shall apply to the evaluation of any
justice or judge who has had at least one interim evaluation conducted during
his term. For any judge or justice elected or reelected on or after January 1,
2014, an interim evaluation of each individual justice or judge shall be
completed during his term. Such interim evaluation shall be commenced by the
judicial performance evaluation program no later than the midpoint of his term.

C. All records created or maintained by or on behalf of the judicial performance
evaluation program related to an evaluation of any individual justice or judge
are confidential and shall not be disclosed, except that any report provided to
the General Assembly pursuant to this section shall be a public record that is
open to inspection.

HISTORY: 2002, c. 726; 2005, c. 633; 2014, c. 808; 2018, c. 727.