The Virginia General Assembly elected Judge Stephen R. McCullough to the Virginia Supreme Court March 10. McCullough was previously a judge in the State Court of Appeals.
A vacancy was left on the Supreme Court when Justice LeRoy Millette Jr. retired in July 2015.
Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe appointed Justice Jane Roush to an interim appointment on the court and sought her election from the Republican-controlled General Assembly for a full 12 year term on the court.
Republican leaders said the recess appointment was outside of McAuliffe’s powers because the appointment was made while the House of Delegates was in session. Recess appointments require the state legislature to be adjourned.
When Roush’s appointment expired Feb. 12, the court seat remained vacant until McCullough’s appointment.
Republican leaders opposed Roush’s appointment and initially supported the appointment of State Court of Appeals Judge Rossie Alston Jr.
“Since last August, the House has maintained that Judge Alston is the most qualified choice for the current vacancy,” House Speaker William Howell (R-Stafford) said in a January press release. “He is a widely respected and experienced Court of Appeals Judge who earned the endorsement of every major bar association in the Commonwealth.”
Ultimately, Alston was not confirmed in the Senate, and Howell said he was “deeply disappointed.”
The Senate Courts of Justice Committee — which recommends potential nominees — also considered former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to fill the vacant seat.
Cuccinelli said he was humbled to be considered for the position.
“I have been approached to consider an appointment to the Virginia Supreme Court,” Cuccinelli said in a Facebook post March 8. “I am humbled and honored to be considered for such a position, but it is not something that my wife and I have previously contemplated.”
This choice was met with opposition, including from Lieutenant Gov. Ralph Northam, who called the decision an “embarrassment and affront to the people of Virginia and the judicial process.”
“Ken Cuccinelli has spent his career as an activist trying to outlaw abortion and birth control, denying science and climate change and aggressively denigrating and denying our LGBT community of basic rights,” Northam said in a press release.
Cuccinelli withdrew his name from the process March 9, and McCullough was elected by the General Assembly the following day.
Some members of the General Assembly considered the process to be rushed. Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Donald McEachin (D-Henrico) said lawmakers and citizens had no time to review his record before the final vote.
“He was certified in a last-minute meeting that ordinary Virginians had no chance to attend,” McEachin said in a press release. “Every aspect of this process has been rushed and opaque — unworthy of our Court and our Commonwealth.”
Despite some Democrats’ belief that there was not ample time to review McCullough’s credentials, those who support the decision said they are confident he is the right person for the position.
Dave Albo (R-West Springfield), chairman of the House Courts of Justice Committee, said McCullough is an experienced judge who will make significant contributions to the court.
“From his time in the Attorney General’s office as Solicitor General and an Assistant Attorney General to his current tenure on the Court of Appeals, Judge McCullough has gained wide respect from his peers,” Albo said in a press release.
House Speaker William Howell said McCullough is an “eminently qualified jurist” and that he would make “an outstanding addition to Virginia’s highest court.”
Following the conclusion of the 2016 legislative session March 12, McAuliffe’s letter to the General Assembly called the appointment an opportunity “lost this year to disorder and acrimony.”
“The firing of a highly qualified Supreme Court Justice and the haphazard process for replacing her was an unprecedented political affront to the independence of our judiciary, the branch of government we depend on to apply calm and deliberative thought to our Commonwealth’s thorniest disputes,” McAuliffe wrote.
McCullough will serve on the Virginia Supreme Court through 2027.
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