Herndon Lawyer Doug Landau Asks Virginia to Fill Judge Vacancies

At the Herndon Virginia law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. even our Madeira Intern knows that “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Judicial vacancies mean there are not enough judges in our Courts to hear cases quickly. That’s bad for Fairfax County citizens

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has proposed funding for only 15 of 44 vacant judgeships statewide.  Fairfax, currently down four judges, is not on the list to receive any new judges.  Herndon Lawyer Doug Landau has gone to Fairfax Circuit Court with his client and witnesses for a jury trial only to be told that there were not enough judges on that day !  And, because ABRAMS LANDAU had invested the time, effort and money to have the treating doctor’s deposition videotaped, Landau and his clients had to come back on another day !  As the saying goes, “Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied.”

This is due largely to the way caseload is measured:

• Fairfax considers a criminal case as one case, no matter how many charges are brought against the defendant, while most other jurisdictions treat each charge separately; and
• Civil cases, which are much more common and more complex in Fairfax, are not considered in the measurement.  These cases require considerable more judicial resources than criminal cases.

If these errors in calculation are corrected (as we hope they will be at the conclusion of the Supreme Court’s ongoing study of judicial workload next November), it will be clear that the caseload in Fairfax means that the judicial vacancies must be filled.

In the meantime, a shortage of judges means delays in cases being tried in Fairfax County.  For this reason, Landau urges his clients and colleagues to contact their local representatives in the Virginia General Assembly by email, phone, or by letter.  Click here for contact information for members of the Northern Virginia Delegation.

Lawyer Landau is following the lead of the Fairfax Bar Association by saying, “Join me in telling our representatives that Virginia cannot postpone filling at least one of two vacant General District Court seats and one of two vacant Circuit Court seats, positions that are necessary in order to uphold and fulfill the Commonwealth’s constitutional obligation to its citizens.  Underfunding of our judicial system has a critical impact in Fairfax County, with its population of more than 1,100,000 people.  The judicial caseload is enormous and we cannot tolerate our citizens and businesses being denied timely and prompt access to efficient justice. Fairfax County is already facing overcrowded dockets and not filling these vacancies will result in lengthy delays in resolution of the cases brought before the various Courts in this Circuit.”

Contact ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. at once by phone (703) 796-9555 or by email if we can be of assistance to you or someone you know.