No vacancy

Virginia's General Assembly has finally filled two vacancies in the state's Supreme Court.

Cleo Elaine Powell and Elizabeth A. McClanahan were elected unanimously in the House and the Senate on Friday, amid a partisan gridlock over redistricting that has delayed the judicial nomination process since February. Both women are being elevated from current positions on the Virginia Court of Appeals.

Powell, who has become the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, was the favorite of Democrats. McClanahan, who was the top lieutenant under former Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore, had the backing of Republicans.

The two vacancies slowed the work flow of the seven-member high court. Powell and McClanahan fill the seats left empty from the retirement of Justice Lawrence Koontz and the death in February of Justice Leroy Hassell.

In 2008, Gov. Tim Kaine appointed Powell the first African American woman to serve as a justice on the Virginia Court of Appeals. She holds a law degree from the University of Virginia. McClanahan was elected to the Court of Appeals in 2003 and holds a law degree from the University of Dayton.

Both women have ties to the energy industry. Powell worked several years for Virginia Power (now Dominion) before she was appointed on the Chesterfield County General District Court in 1993. Dominion recently named her an honoree in its 2011 list of "Strong Men and Women." McClanahan has published numerous articles on oil and gas issues, including white papers for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Powell told Dominion her advice to young people is, "Do the best job you can do at everything you do because you never know who is watching. Moreover, do your best even if no one is watching. Do it for you."

The House and Senate elected Stephen R. McCullough, senior appellate counsel to the state Attorney General, and Glen Huff, a Hampton Roads attorney and former law firm partner of McDonnell's, to fill the vacant Appeals Court seats of Powell and McClanahan.

Some local court vacancies were not filled. A handful of general district and juvenile and domestic relations court posts with caseloads less than the statewide average remain open.

The House and Senate met for only about two hours before lawmakers headed home on another indefinite recess in a special on-again, off-again redistricting session that began in April.

Last week, Gov. Bob McDonnell sent a terse letter to Speaker of the House William Howell and Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, urging them to either elect the judges or adjourn the session so that he could appoint them. The vacancies, McDonnell said, were causing a "major negative impact on Virginia's justice system" by creating backups in the Supreme Court and requiring substitute and retired judges to hear cases.

Virginia Supreme Court justices serve 12-year terms and earn $170,339 annually.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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