HB 441 VA

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Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission; reform. Increases from seven to 12 the number of members of the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission (the Commission) by adding two additional attorney members, an additional active judge of the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and two additional citizen members. The bill provides that such attorney members be chosen by members of the General Assembly from recommendations provided by the Council of the Virginia State Bar, the Board of Directors for the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys, and the Board of Directors for the Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and reduces the required years of practice for such lawyer members from 15 to eight. The bill establishes an initial and subsequent annual training requirement for each member and any newly hired counsel for the Commission. Additionally, the bill requires the Commission to adopt and implement a conflict of interest policy. The bill clarifies appointment powers of the Governor in any case where a member of the Commission or staff for the Commission is disqualified from or voluntarily recuses himself from participation in a proceeding. Further, the bill requires the Commission to adopt, the Committees for Courts of Justice to approve, and the Commission to make publicly available a Code of Conduct for all Commission members and Commission staff. The bill provides that the Commission shall make all reasonable efforts to contact any witnesses specified in complaints alleging judicial misconduct to assist the Commission. Further, the bill clarifies that the Commission may investigate any complaints within their purview arising out of matters that are pending or on appeal, and that the Commission shall not dismiss such complaints solely on the basis that the matter from which such complaint arose is pending or on appeal. The bill requires the Commission to make publicly available a publication specifying all possible sanctions, informal disciplinary actions, and supervision agreements the Commission may impose on a judge who is the subject of a complaint and provides an option for requiring the mandatory recusal of such judge in certain instances. The bill prohibits the Attorney General from acting as counsel in any proceeding where the Attorney General was involved in a case, either at trial or on appeal, where a complaint of judicial misconduct arose from such case, and provides that the Conflict of Interest policy the Commission adopts shall govern the Attorney General. The bill removes provisions of confidentiality for a complainant that currently bars a complainant from discussing or sharing privileged information regarding any filed complaint and permits such complainant to discuss publicly the filing of a complaint and any associated events relating to the complaint. The bill clarifies notice requirements to the complainant by the Commission. Finally, the bill permits the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia to provide the annual judicial performance evaluations for all judges subject to evaluation to the Commission, and such evaluations shall remain confidential.

• Patrick A. Hope Democratic · primary

1. Jan 12, 2026 Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104937D · lower
2. Jan 12, 2026 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice · lower
3. Jan 23, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB441) · lower
4. Jan 30, 2026 Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal · lower
5. Feb 4, 2026 House subcommittee offered · lower
6. Feb 4, 2026 Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) · lower
7. Feb 11, 2026 Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (22-Y 0-N) · lower
8. Feb 11, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26106142D-H1 · lower
9. Feb 13, 2026 Read first time · lower
10. Feb 16, 2026 Read second time · lower
11. Feb 16, 2026 committee substitute agreed to · lower
12. Feb 16, 2026 Engrossed by House - committee substitute · lower
13. Feb 17, 2026 Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A) · lower
14. Feb 18, 2026 Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) · upper
15. Feb 18, 2026 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice · upper
16. Mar 5, 2026 Continued to next session in Courts of Justice (13-Y 0-N) · upper

The published texts of this bill as it moves through the legislature. Each links to the official document on the state legislature site. Data from OpenStates.

• Courts of Justice Substitute · PDF
• Courts of Justice Substitute · HTML
• Courts of Justice Substitute · PDF
• Courts of Justice Substitute · HTML
• Criminal Subcommittee Substitute · PDF
• Criminal Subcommittee Substitute · HTML
• Introduced · PDF
• Introduced · HTML