The General Assembly impasse that tossed a prized appointment to the State Corporation Commission to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine likely augurs more legislative bickering over judgeships.
Further, lawmakers and legal scholars say, this week's standoff reflects the legislature's complex political dynamic and could make it more difficult to attract and retain judicial candidates.
"The specter of horse-trading over judges, or threats to remove judges after short periods of service is not good for the General Assembly, not good for the courts and not good for the public," said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond who monitors the impact of politics on the courts.
The General Assembly, required by the state constitution to elect judges, jealously guarded its control of the courts.
But personal differences among lawmakers and the new partisan split in Richmond that further threaten consensus on spending and transportation could now imperil agreement on judicial patronage.
Kaine must name an SCC judge who appeals to the Republicans who dominate the House and the Democrats who control the Senate.
Also, Kaine could come under pressure to select an African-American. The SCC, which regulates utilities and telecommunications firms, is the only statewide court that has never had a black member.
The SCC slot was among a half-dozen judgeships left unfilled Wednesday by the General Assembly.
Earlier this year, House Republicans threatened to remove Kaine appointees from the Virginia Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals unless they were assured they could pick a successor to SCC Judge Theodore V. Morrison Jr.
Under a deal between Del. William R. Janis, R-Henrico, and Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico, county Circuit Court Judge Catherine B. Hammond would have shifted to the SCC, assuring an all-GOP commission.
Hammond would be succeeded by Mary Bennett Malveaux. The former prosecutor who would have become Henrico's first African-American circuit judge.
But the swap was largely scuttled by Sen. Walter A. Stosch, R-Henrico, who said he had been denied a voice in candidate-selection.
Before Democrats took back the Senate in November, he said, both parties had to sign off on judicial candidates.
"Essentially, Walter Stosch introduced Catherine Hammond to the Senate and then deserted her," countered McEachin.
Jeff E. Schapiro is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
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