Justice Delayed: Virginia's Judicial Crisis

Jury Trial - Personal Injury - Virginia Courts

As an experienced personal injury attorney handling accident cases all over the state of Virginia, I like to move my client's cases along by setting a trial date as soon as possible. I have always been able to tell my injury clients that we can get a trial date in Virginia pretty quickly compared to other states, and most of the time, their injury case will be tried by a jury within a year from the date of filing the case. Unfortunately, Virginia's legal system is now in a crisis that makes it impossible to predict when a case will see the inside of a courtroom. Currently, there is a freeze on the appointment of new judges to the trial bench. The effects of that freeze are just beginning to be felt. Frederick County just announced that due to the retirement of one of its three judges, no more cases will be scheduled for jury trials until the remaining judges can work through the backlog of cases already on the trial docket. The bottom line is that we need more judges and, as judges continue to retire, the need is going to become even greater.

If you are as concerned about this as I am, contact your legislators and let them know that they need to fill all vacant judicial seats as soon as possible to get Virginia's legal system back on track. For as the saying goes, justice delayed is no justice at all.


Francis P. Hajek
Wilson & Hajek, LLC, a personal injury law firm
Experienced Injury and Accident Lawyers
Serving Virginia, including Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Staunton, Waynesboro