A. No former justice or judge of a court of record of the Commonwealth and no former full-time judge of a court not of record of the Commonwealth, who is retired and receiving retirement benefits under the provisions of the Judicial Retirement System, shall appear as counsel in any case in any court of the Commonwealth.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 51.1-309

  • Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Judge: means any justice or judge of a court of record of the Commonwealth, any member of the State Corporation Commission or Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission, any judge of a district court of the Commonwealth other than a substitute judge of such district court, and any executive secretary of the Supreme Court assuming such position between December 1, 1975, and January 31, 1976. See Virginia Code 51.1-301
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
  • Retirement system: means the Judicial Retirement System. See Virginia Code 51.1-301
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
  • Supreme Court: means the Supreme Court of Virginia. See Virginia Code 1-249

B. No former member of the State Corporation Commission or Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, who is retired and receiving retirement benefits under the provisions of the Judicial Retirement System, shall appear as counsel in any case before the Commission of which he was formerly a member.

C. The provisions of subsection A shall not be applicable if the retired justice or judge is not authorized for or assigned to temporary recall by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, or the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the House Committee for Courts of Justice and either (i) (a) the retired judge or justice has been retired for at least two years; (b) the retired justice or judge is appearing as counsel, pro bono, for an indigent person in a civil matter; (c) such civil matter is assigned or referred to the retired justice or judge by a nonprofit legal aid program organized under the auspices of the Virginia State Bar; and (d) the retired justice or judge is not an employee, officer, or board member of such nonprofit legal aid program or (ii) the retired justice or judge is at least 67 years of age and is eligible to receive full Social Security benefits. Nothing herein shall relieve the retired justice or judge from having obtained any license or meeting any requirement in connection with the appearance as counsel as required by law, rule, or regulation. A retired justice or judge shall not be eligible to be authorized for or assigned to temporary recall after such time that he appears as private counsel pursuant to this subsection.

1970, c. 778, § 51-179; 1975, c. 188; 1980, c. 138; 1990, c. 832; 2011, c. 705; 2018, c. 709; 2023, c. 552.

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