The Supreme Court of Virginia has elected Justice Cleo E. Powell as its next chief justice, making her the first African American woman to hold the post in the court’s history. Powell will take office Jan. 1, 2026, succeeding Chief Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn, who announced he will retire that day. 

The court’s justices unanimously chose Powell for the position Friday. She was first elected to the Supreme Court in 2011 and re-elected in 2023. Before joining the high court, Powell served on the Court of Appeals of Virginia, the 12th Judicial Circuit Court, and the Chesterfield General District Court. 

Powell earned her undergraduate degree and her law degree from the University of Virginia. Before becoming a judge, she practiced labor and employment law, served as corporate counsel and director of employee services for an energy company and worked as a senior assistant attorney general in the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia. 

She currently chairs the Judicial Performance Evaluation Committee and serves on the executive committee of the Judicial Conference of Virginia. Her past service includes work with the Model Jury Instructions Committee, the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission and the Ad Hoc Committee for the Study of Canons of Judicial Conduct. 

Powell has received numerous professional and civic honors, including the Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers Conference Jurist of the Year Award, the YMCA of Greater Richmond’s Martin Luther King Jr. Service Award for Legacy, and the Virginia State Bar’s Clarence M. Dunnaville Jr. Achievement Award. 

She also contributes to legal education as a faculty member at New York University’s Institute of Judicial Administration’s Appellate Judges Seminar and serves as Diversity Mentor, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law and The L. Anthony Sutin Endowed Lecturer at the Appalachian School of Law. 

“Chief Justice-elect Powell is a dedicated jurist who exemplifies integrity, civility and professionalism, and I am confident that she will serve the Court as Chief Justice with the highest distinction,” Goodwyn said.