Can the Virginia Supreme Court be counted on to overturn the redistricting referendum?

by Ken Reid

The Virginia Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in Richmond Monday (April 27) on whether the recently approved constitutional amendment on redistricting was put on the ballot legally, in response to Republican litigation filed in January and February.

A number of attorneys in the GOP camp think the court could overturn the referendum. But an interview with Norfolk’s Channel 13 News, political analyst Leslie Caughell noted that revisiting the issue would place justices in a difficult position.

“You can only imagine how voters would feel or perceive the legitimacy of the court, or maybe the partisanship of the court if voters vote yes on this and then the court subsequently throws it out,” Caughell told the station. “I think it’s a really hard thing for the court to do.”

Caughell also pointed to precedent in other states, noting that the supreme courts of Texas and California have both approved redistricting efforts during active election cycles.

But there was a case in 1956 where a referendum in Arlington was allowed to go to the voters and then revoked by the court. Read about it here in Cardinal News.”

Further making me cynical the Virginia Supreme Court will do anything to stop the Democrat gerrymandering of Virginia’s 11 House districts is the fact the state court, unlike the federal Supremes, do not serve for life but have to be reappointed by the General Assembly.

They get great salaries and benefits, and my guess is a number are thinking how their vote on this will impact their reappointments by the Democrat-controlled GA. Democrats have so much invested emotionally, politically and financially to see this to fruition, too. The leaders of the Democrats in the GA, House Speaker Don Scott and President Pro Tem Louise Lucas in the state Senate, can be counted on to remember a “no” vote for a long, long time. A political friend in Loudoun said they “talk like gangsters.”

Four of the state’s seven justices appear to be Democrats judging by when they were appointed. This includes the Chief Justice, Cleo Powell, who assumed that position only in January after serving on the state Court of Appeals. Her appointment was trumpeted in Black Virginia News and you can watch her investiture ceremony here, and she speaks at the end of the video.

Powell is term limited by age. She will reach the mandatory retirement age of 73 in 2030, so she cannot be reappointed.

Two of the justices’ terms expire within the next two years — Arthur Kelsey, who became judge under then Democrat Gov. Mark Warner, in January 2027, and Stephen R. McCullough, appointed under Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, in March 2028.

I am not hopeful the court will overturn the referendum, despite how close the vote was, primarily because the court allowed this to go to referendum in the first place instead of deciding on the many constitutional and state law violations that the Democrat-controlled GA committed to rush it to the ballot.

The cynic in me also wonders if many of the seven, especially the ones who may want reappointment, are willing to vote to overturn the “will of the voters” and anger the General Assembly and tons of liberal voters.

The bios of the seven justices are below. You decide!

The Honorable Cleo E. Powell
Expiration of term: July 31, 2035
During the administration of then-Governor Tim Kaine, legislators elected her to the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and she served in that position until mid-2011. Following the death of Leroy R. Hassell, Virginia governor Bob McDonnell nominated Powell to fill the vacancy, then legislators elected her to the Virginia Supreme Court on July 29, 2011, and Powell took the oath of office on August 2, 2011. She was re-elected twelve years later, and took the oath of office for her current twelve-year term on October 21, 2023, so her term expires in 2035. However, Justice Powell will reach the mandatory retirement age of 73 in 2030, prior to the end of her term.

The Honorable D. Arthur Kelsey
Expiration of term: January 31, 2027
He was appointed by Governor Mark R. Warner to the Virginia Court of Appeals in August 2002. He was subsequently elected by the General Assembly for an eight-year term in 2003 and re-elected in 2011. The General Assembly unanimously elected Kelsey to the Supreme Court on January 20, 2015, for a twelve-year term beginning the following February 1.

The Honorable Stephen R. McCullough
Expiration of term: March 2, 2028
In 2006, then-Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell promoted him to the position of deputy solicitor general. He later became Solicitor General of Virginia under then-Attorney General William C. Mims. He served as opinions counsel and senior appellate counsel under then-Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli. On July 29, 2011, the General Assembly of Virginia elected McCullough to an eight-year term on the Court of Appeals, beginning August 1, 2011. On March 10, 2016, the General Assembly elected him to a twelve-year term on the Supreme Court, beginning March 3, 2016. His formal investiture occurred on May 23, 2016.

The Honorable Teresa M. Chafin
Expiration of term: August 31, 2031
Chafin had a private practice based in Lebanon, and sat as Circuit Court judge, primarily in Tazewell County, Virginia from 2005 until 2012, including service as the chief judge of the 29th Circuit in 2008 and 2009. From 2002 until 2005, Judge Chafin served as Tazewell County’s Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court judge. She left office on September 1, 2019, upon her elevation to the Supreme Court of Virginia. On February 14, 2019, she was unanimously elected by the Virginia General Assembly to be a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, replacing Elizabeth A. McClanahan who retired on September 1, 2019

The Honorable Wesley G. Russell Jr.
Expiration of term: June 30, 2034
He was also a partner at the law firm of McSweeney, Crump, Childress & Timple PC. He started his career as a law clerk for the Virginia 13th Judicial Circuit. Russell was first elected by the General Assembly on March 10, 2006, to an eight-year term beginning January 20, 2014. His eight-year term began February 1, 2015.[1] His term would have expired on January 31, 2023, however, he was elected to the Virginia Supreme Court. On June 17, 2022, Russell was elected by the Virginia General Assembly to a 12-year term on the Supreme Court of Virginia beginning July 1, 2022.

The Honorable Thomas P. Mann
Expiration of term: July 31, 2034
Mann served as a juvenile and domestic relations court judge from 2006 to 2016. He was Chief Judge of the Fairfax Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court from 2010 to 2012. He was elevated to the circuit court in July 2016. In June 2022, Mann was elected by the Virginia General Assembly to serve as a justice of the Virginia Supreme Court for a 12-year term commencing August 1, 2022. He succeeded William C. Mims. Mann speaks frequently about domestic violence, attorney ethics, evidence, courtroom etiquette and effective advocacy.

His daughter was murdered while a student at Mary Washigton College in 2015.

The Honorable Junius P. Fulton, III
Expiration of term: December 31, 2038
After that, he returned to private practice until his 1996 appointment to the Norfolk Circuit Court (Fourth Judicial Circuit of Virginia) by Governor George Allen, an appointment which was confirmed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1997. In 2021, the General Assembly elevated Fulton to serve on a newly created seat of the Court of Appeals of Virginia. In 2025, he was appointed to the Virginia Supreme Court by the General Assembly to replace S. Bernard Goodwyn, who retired from active service on December 31, 2025.