Abstract
This year marks forty years that the Court of Appeals of Virginia has been in service to the Commonwealth. It is a fitting milestone for celebrating the contributions of the dedicated public servants who have ensured its success. It also is an occasion for recounting how narrowly the court came to be at all. Professor John Douglass touched on that theme in his remarks on the thirtieth anniversary of the court, reminding attendees at a ceremony hosted by the Supreme Court of Virginia, “Today, it is easy to see the necessity for giving birth to the Court of Appeals[,]” but “it didn’t have to turn out the way it did.” This article affirms that conclusion by recount- ing in detail the multi-year struggle—as played out in the Virginia General Assembly, bar meetings, editorial columns, and elsewhere—that eventually produced Virginia’s modern intermediate appellate court. …
Recommended Citation
Trevor S. Cox,
"Creating an Institution": Celebrating the Fortieth Anniversary of Virginia's Intermediate Appellate Court That Nearly Wasn't,
60
U. Rich. L. Rev.
167
(2025).
Available at:
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/lawreview/vol60/iss1/10
