Less than a year after being appointed to the Virginia Court of Appeals, former Prince William County Circuit Court Judge LeRoy Millette has been tapped for the Virginia Supreme Court:
The judge who presided over one of the Washington area sniper trials will now be making decisions that affect people throughout Northern Virginia.
Virginia Court of Appeals Judge LeRoy F. Millette Jr. was sworn in last week as a judge on the Virginia Supreme Court after receiving an interim appointment from Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D). Millette, a former Prince William Circuit Court judge who spent part of his boyhood in Alexandria, becomes the second member of the state’s highest court from Northern Virginia.
Millette, 59, gained attention for his evenhanded approach to the 2003 trial of sniper John Allen Muhammad. The plaudits he received propelled Millette to the appeals court job in November, followed nine months later by his elevation to the Supreme Court on Aug. 15.
The appointment requires confirmation from the Virginia General Assembly and could be subject to partisan bickering. The Republican-controlled Virginia House and Democrat-controlled Senate have been battling for the past year over which party should appoint judges. The state constitution gives that power to legislators, but the governor can make judicial appointments when the legislature is out of session, as it will be until January.
Millette’s Court of Appeals appointment was subject to similar partisan bickering in January, here’s hoping it won’t happen again.
