HD4 - The Commonwealth's System of Appellate Review in Civil Cases

  • Published: 1991
  • Author: Joint Subcommittee
  • Enabling Authority: House Joint Resolution 329 (Regular Session, 1989)

Executive Summary:
I. AUTHORITY FOR STUDY

House Joint Resolution No. 329 (Appendix A), for which Delegate J. Samuel Glasscock served as chief patron, was approved by the 1989 Session of the General Assembly.

Under the provisions of HJR 329, this subcommittee was established to:

1. Study whether the present structure of Virginia's appellate system of judicial review should be modified to expand the opportunity and type of review given civil cases at the appellate level.

2. Consider the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of the Virginia Judicial System.

3. Recommend to the 1990 Session of the General Assembly any necessary changes in the form and structure of the Commonwealth's appellate system to best serve the administration of justice and to allow a full and timely review of all civil cases.

Behind authorization for this study lay a growing concern over delays in receiving final appellate confirmation or reversal of rulings in civil cases and the resulting damage, not only to litigants, but also to the public's perception of the system of justice in the Commonwealth.

II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The Virginia appellate court system had its inception in 1779 when the Supreme Court of Virginia first convened in Williamsburg.

By 1848, an overburdened Supreme Court was faced with a case backlog of eight to nine years. To address this intolerable delay, the General Assembly created a "Special Court of Appeals" to assist in "dispatching the business" of the Supreme Court. (*1)

During the Constitutional Convention of 1851, this special court was designated a constitutional court which could be convened by legislative act. (*2) In 1872, 1924, and 1927, the General Assembly exercised its prerogative to establish temporary courts of appeal to ease the Supreme Court's workload. However, this power was removed from the General Assembly by the constitutional revision of 1971.

Responding to growing delays in the disposition of appellate cases in more recent times, the I'Anson Commission in 1972 recommended creation of an intermediate court of appeals to which there would be no appeal of right. In 1978, a study by the National Center for State Courts reiterated the I'Anson Commission's recommendation, but additionally called for appeals of right in most civil and criminal cases.

These recommendations and a subsequent report from the Judicial Council resulted in an unsuccessful attempt to legislatively create a court of appeals in 1982. Following that session, the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice held a series of public hearings which culminated in the passage of a bill during the 1983 Session. This bill created the first permanent court of appeals in the Commonwealth. The Virginia Court of Appeals was established, effective January 1, 1985, and given appellate jurisdiction as a matter of right over circuit court decisions in criminal (*3) (except death cases) and domestic cases and for appeals from administrative agencies and the Industrial Commission. However, the bulk of appellate jurisdiction in civil cases remained with the Supreme Court.

In response to delays of over three years in the disposition of civil appeals to the Supreme Court and to a lack of appellate review in civil cases, (*4) legislation was introduced in the Virginia Senate during the 1988 Session to expand the jurisdiction of the Virginia Court of Appeals to include most civil cases and to authorize an appeal of right to both criminal and civil litigants. This bill, carried over to the 1989 Session, failed in deference to the creation of this study.
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(*1) "Senate Document No. 36, Report of the Revisors," Virginia General Assembly, 1948-49 Session.
(*2) Virginia Constitution, Act VI, § 12 (1851).
(*3) Senate Bill No. 253, 1984, made the Court of Appeals' appellate jurisdiction discretionary for appeals from circuit court criminal cases.
(*4) In 1987, for example, the Supreme Court elected to review only 17 percent of those cases for which an appeal was presented to it by petition. Virginia State of the Judiciary Report 30 (1987).