The Virginia Supreme Court has chosen Justice Cynthia Dinah Fannon Kinser as the court's first female chief justice. Kinser will succeed Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr., whose tenure as chief justice will end Jan. 31. Hassell Sr. has served two terms as chief justice and is no longer eligible to serve because of court policy. Kinser, 58, is a native and resident of Lee County. She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and the University of Virginia School of Law. She has served as a commonwealth's attorney for Lee County and a U.S. magistrate judge. In a prepared statement, Hassell stated that he is confident that Chief Justice-Elect Kinser will serve the position with the "highest distinction." Former Gov. George Allen appointed Kinser to the court in 1997. We won't hold that against her. Onward and upward.
Read more at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.