Former attorney general Ken Cuccinelli nominated for Virginia Supreme Court
Last edited Wed Mar 9, 2016, 01:28 PM - Edit history (3)
Source: Virginian-Pilot
By Patrick Wilson and Bill Sizemore
The Virginian-Pilot
10 hrs ago
RICHMOND
The state Senate Courts of Justice Committee voted Tuesday to nominate former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to the Supreme Court of Virginia, a decision that surprised many in the Capitol.
Liberal and Democratic groups immediately attacked Cuccinelli over his conservative record as a state senator and attorney general and began a lobbying effort with the Twitter hashtag #KeepKenOut. But Republicans said he was well-qualified and his election to the Supreme Court could end an impasse that’s gone on since August.
To be elected, he will need to be interviewed by the House of Delegates Courts of Justice Committee, and questions about his record likely will come up.
The move follows months of drama between Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Republicans who control the legislature over a vacancy created last year when Justice LeRoy Millette Jr. retired.
Read more: http://pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/virginia/former-attorney-general-ken-cuccinelli-nominated-for-virginia-supreme-court/article_c18698f6-406a-5a4c-989c-9dc7fe7ff05a.html
Hat tip, WTOP: Senate panel backs Cuccinelli for Virginia Supreme Court
I sent the OP at 6:30 a.m. Now that I'm at work, here are a few more links.
Posted: Tuesday, March 8, 2016 8:30 pm
By JIM NOLAN AND GRAHAM MOOMAW Richmond Times-Dispatch
Republicans on the Senate Courts of Justice Committee on Tuesday used their majority to nominate former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to succeed Justice Jane Marum Roush on the Virginia Supreme Court.
The surprise move came after Senate Republicans failed to muster enough floor votes to elect Court of Appeals Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. to replace Roush, the interim appointee of Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat.
They then swiftly regrouped and certified Cuccinelli, the conservative lightning rod who nearly beat McAuliffe in the 2013 race for governor.
“I have been approached to consider an appointment to the Virginia Supreme Court,” Cuccinelli said in a statement Tuesday evening. “I am humbled and honored to be considered for such a position, but it is not something that my wife and I have previously contemplated.
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By Laura Vozzella March 8 at 7:02 PM
@LVozzella
RICHMOND — A Senate panel on Tuesday nominated former attorney general Ken Cuccinelli II to the Virginia Supreme Court, a move that could both keep Cuccinelli out of the 2017 governor’s race and deal a particularly bitter blow to Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
While the governor and the Republican-controlled legislature have been deadlocked for months over how to fill a vacancy on the state’s highest court, the nomination of Cuccinelli appeared to have enough support from GOP lawmakers to break the impasse.
Cuccinelli (R), who narrowly lost the 2013 gubernatorial contest to McAuliffe (D), seemed caught off guard. “I am humbled and honored to be considered for such a position, but it is not something that my wife and I have previously contemplated,” he said. “Together, we will prayerfully review this possibility.”
A tea party hero for the brash battles he waged as attorney general against abortion, Obamacare and other perceived examples of federal overreach, Cuccinelli is reviled with equal fervor on the left. Establishment Republicans have not been fans, either, and have expressed concern as Cuccinelli has publicly mulled a second gubernatorial bid.
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