In Virginia, appellate review before the Supreme Court is a two-step process in most cases. First, cases from the lower trial court (the Circuit Court) and the lower appellate court (the Court of Appeals) are submitted to the Supreme Court on a petition for appeal.
The petition is filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court. Petitions are then assigned to a staff attorney or law clerk for research and further preparation. Oral
arguments are heard before a panel of three justices. In a limited number of cases, the Chief Staff Attorney may hear oral arguments and then present the case to a panel of three justices for decision.
“…No decision shall become the judgment of the Court, however, except on the concurrence of at least three justices, and no law shall be declared unconstitutional under either this Constitution or the Constitution of the United States except on the concurrence of at least a majority of all justices of the Supreme Court.” |
The justices conduct a thorough review on the merits of each case with the assistance of memoranda summarizing the facts and basic issues of each appeal. One justice may grant an appeal. If no justice on the panel grants the appeal,
the appeal is denied. If the petition is denied, the appellant may
petition for a rehearing. If the petition for rehearing is denied, the
appeal process ends and the judgment of the lower court is upheld. If the petition is granted, the second phase of the appeal proceeds with eventual argument of the cases before the full court.
During the second phase of an appeal and before each session of the Court, the Clerk forwards to each justice a copy of the printed docket showing the cases to be heard at that session, together with a copy of the printed record and briefs filed in each case. This allows each justice to study the cases before they are argued orally.
View Route of Appeal.
