S. Bernard Goodwyn | |
|---|---|
| Chief Justice of Virginia | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Donald W. Lemons |
| Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court | |
| Assumed office October 10,2007 | |
| Appointed by | Tim Kaine |
| Preceded by | Elizabeth B. Lacy |
| Succeeded by | Junius Fulton (designate) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Samuel Bernard Goodwyn February 23,1961 Southampton County,Virginia,U.S. |
| Education | Harvard University (AB) University of Virginia School of Law (JD) |
Samuel Bernard Goodwyn (born February 23,1961) is a judge and lawyer. He is the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia and previously served as a circuit court judge in Chesapeake,Virginia.
Samuel Bernard Goodwyn was born in 1961 in Southampton County,Virginia. [1] [2] He grew up in Boykins,Virginia. [3] [4] Neither of his parents,Dolly and Sam Goodwyn,had completed high school. [5] [3] His father worked as a carpenter and his mother sold insurance. [3]
Goodwyn graduated from Southampton High School in 1979 as valedictorian. [6] [7] In high school,he was student body president,captain of the track team,and the football quarterback for two AA state championships. [3] [8] [9] He also played the saxophone in the Tri-County Concert Band. [3] He was selected for the Hearst Foundation United States Senate Youth Program in 1978. [3]
Goodwyn graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with an A.B. in economics in 1983. [1] [9] While at Harvard,he had a scholarship for varsity football and also played on the track team. [3] [6] [10] He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1986. [1] While in law school,he was an editor for the Virginia Tax Review, a member of the Raven Society,and received the Ritter Award in 1986. [9] [11] [12]
Goodwyn practiced law with McGuire,Woods,Battle &Boothe in Charlottesville,Virginia from 1986 to 1988. [1] [13] He joined the law firm of Willcox &Savage in Norfolk,Virginia,working there in litigation from 1988 to 1995. [1] [5] [14] He joined Wilcox &Savage as an associate and became a partner in January 1992,specializing in commercial,constitutional,and insurance defense litigation. [13] [15] Goodwyn became a member of the Virginia Bar Association in 1993. [8] He was also a research associate professor of law at the University of Virginia School of Law from 1994 to 1995. [9]
Goodwin was elected to serve as district court judge at the General District Court in Chesapeake,Virginia from 1995 to 1997. [1] [8] [14] He was the first Black judge to serve on the Chesapeake district court. [6] [16] From 1997 until 2007,Goodwyn was a judge in the First Judicial Circuit Court in Chesapeake. [1] [12] [14]
On October 10,2007,Governor Tim Kaine appointed Goodwyn to the Supreme Court of Virginia to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Elizabeth B. Lacy early in 2007. [17] [18] He was sworn in by chief justice Leroy R. Hassell Sr. October 18,2007. [18] [16] Although his appointment was immediate,the Virginia General Assembly had to confirm Goodwyn for a full twelve-year term. [17] [4] In the 2008 session,a political standoff between the Democratic-controlled Virginia Senate and the Republican-controlled Virginia House of Delegates resulted in Goodwyn's nomination being put on hold until February 8,2008,the day his pro tempore appointment would have expired. [19] On that day,the General Assembly unanimously appointed Goodwyn to a twelve-year term. [20] [21]
In January 2020,he was reappointed to another twelve-year term on the Supreme Court. [2] He started a four-year term as chief justice on January 1,2022. [1] Goodwyn was the second African American to serve as the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. [2] [6] On January 31,2025,Goodwyn announced that he would resign from the Supreme Court of Virginia effective January 1,2026,coinciding with the end of his current term as chief justice of the court. [5] [21]
Goodwyn serves on the board of directors of the Conference of Chief Justices and was the co-chair of the Virginia Access to Justice Commission. [5] [21] He is an ex-officio member of The American Law Institute. [22]
The Virginia Bar Association presented Goodwyn with its highest honor,the Gerald L. Baliles Distinguished Service Award,at its annual meeting in January 2025. [8] [21]
In 1985,Goodwyn married Sharon Smith,the sister of Goodwyn's roommate at Harvard. [3] She is a lawyer who graduated from Harvard University and the University of Virginia School of Law in 1988. [3] [5] They have two children,Sarah Elizabeth Goodwyn and Samuel Jared Goodwyn. [2] [9]
Goodwyn was a deacon at the Galilee Baptist Church in Branchville,Virginia. [9] [7] He is a member of Sigma Pi Phi,Omega Psi Phi,and Prince Hall Masons. [9]
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