                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ELECTION OF SUCCESSOR JUDGE BEFORE DATE OF VACANCY (§ 17.1-512)

Whenever a vacancy occurs or exists in the office of a judge of a circuit while
the General Assembly is in session, or whenever the term of office of a judge of
a circuit court 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 judge 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 term of
eight years and upon qualification, the successor judge shall enter at once upon
the discharge of the duties of his office. However, such successor judge shall
not enter upon the discharge of his duties prior to the commencement of his term
of 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 §
63.2-1515 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 Courts of Justice. No person with a criminal conviction for a
felony shall be appointed as a judge. If the person has not met the requirement
of filing in the preceding calendar year a disclosure form prescribed in §
2.2-3117 or 30-111, he shall also provide a written statement of economic
interests on the disclosure form prescribed in § 2.2-3117 to the Chairmen of
the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice.

HISTORY: 1973, c. 544, § 17-122.1; 1993, c. 368; 1998, c. 872; 2004, c. 452;
2018, c. 578.