S. Bernard Goodwyn is a Virginia jurist currently serving his first 12-year term as a Justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia

Supreme Court of Virginia

The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears appeals from the trial-level city and county Circuit Courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative law cases that go through the Court of Appeals of Virginia. It is one of...

. Justice Goodwyn was appointed on October 10, 2007 by Governor Timothy M. Kaine to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Elizabeth B. Lacy

Elizabeth B. Lacy

Elizabeth Bermingham Lacy is a Virginia jurist and was the first woman named to the Virginia State Corporation Commission and subsequently was the first woman named to be a Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Lacy is a graduate of St. Mary's College at Notre Dame and the University of Texas...

 early in 2007. Such pro tempore appointments are only valid until 30 days after the Virginia General Assembly next meets. In the 2008 session of the Virginia General Assembly, a political standoff between the Democratic-controlled Senate and the Republican-controlled House of Delegates resulted in Goodwyn's nomination being put on hold until February 8, 2008, the day the pro tempore appointment would have expired. On that day, however, the General Assembly unanimously appointed Justice Goodwyn to a 12-year term.

Justice Goodwyn was, until his appointment, a trial court judge in the First Judicial Circuit Court in Chesapeake, Virginia

Chesapeake, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 199,184 people, 69,900 households, and 54,172 families residing in the city. The population density was 584.6 people per square mile . There were 72,672 housing units at an average density of 213.3 per square mile...

 where he has served since 1997. Prior to being named to the circuit court, he served two years as a general district court judge. A Southampton County native, Justice Goodwyn received his undergraduate degree in economics from Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 and his J.D. from the University of Virginia

University of Virginia

The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

’s School of Law in 1986, where he was an editor for the Virginia Tax Review and received the Ritter Award for honor, character and integrity. Justice Goodwyn also served on the faculty of the school during the 1994-95 school year as a Research Associate Professor of Law. Before he was appointed to the bench, Justice Goodwyn practiced law at the law firm of Willcox & Savage for eight years.

Justice Goodwyn is married to Sharon Smith Goodwyn and has two children, Samuel Jared Goodwyn and Sarah Elizabeth Goodwyn.

Richmond Times Dispatch Online Article on the Leglislative deadlock

Virginia Lawyers Weekly Blog post reporting election