Chief Justice Leroy Hassell's Annual State of the Judiciary Messages, 2007-2010

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia State Law Library, Supreme Court of Virginia
Virginia State Law Library
Supreme Court of Virginia
100 North Ninth Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Ashley Vavra, Librarian-Archivist
Phone: (804) 225-2739
Phone: (804) 786-2075

Background

Scope and content:

Contains video recordings of Hassell's annual message, delivered at the Virginia Judiciary Conferences in Roanoke, 2007; Williamsburg, 2008; Roanoke, 2009 May 11-13; and Norfolk, 2010 May 10-12.

Hassell discusses magistrate system reforms, the Commission on Mental Law Reform and efforts to reform mental health laws, the Judicial Performance Evaluation Program and opposition to it in the General Assembly; improvements in information technology, including e-filing and case imaging and management systems, Drug Treatment courts, the impact of the aging population on the courts, the Commission on Courts in the 21st Century, emergency preparedness planning (Pandemic Flue Preparedness Commission), effects of state budget cuts on the judiciary branch, making legal services more accessible to the poor, and increasing diversity in the judicial branch. He also notes anniversaries important in the history of the racial integration of the judicial branch in the twentieth century.

In the 2010 message, Hassell concludes his remarks with recollections of growing up in Norfolk, his mentors and influences, including Judge James Benton, Norfolk lawyer Joseph Jordan, and Supreme Court of Virginia justice John Charles Thomas; and reflections on his accomplishments during his eight years as chief justice.

Biographical / historical:

Leroy Rountree Hassell, Jr. (1955-2011) was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia from 2003 to 2011. He was appointed to the court in 1989. Hassell was the first African American elected chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia.

The chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia delivers an annual state of the judiciary message each May at the Virginia Judiciary Conference.

Acquisition information:
The recordings were transferred to the Virginia State Law Library from the Office of the Executive Secretary April 23, 2012.
Physical description:
1 DVD (2 hours, 13 minutes), sound, color; transcripts available