Judge Alston is Confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
I am pleased to announce that as of yesterday, June 10, 2019, Judge Alston has been confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division. Like many judges these days, Judge Alston had quite a wait — I think it was close to a year and a half. Virginia Lawyers Weekly has the full scoop here.
According to Virginia Lawyers Weekly, Alston, 62, was elected in 2009 to the Court of Appeals after service in both the circuit and juvenile and domestic relations courts of Prince William County. He spent nine years in private practice in Manassas and served as a commissioner in chancery and substitute judge. Before private practice, he worked for five years with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and for two years as a staff attorney with the National Labor Relations Board. He graduated from Averett University and from the North Carolina Central University law school.
Although I have never appeared before him, I have met him several times — he is a frequent speaker at the Mandatory Professionalism Seminar and I have read a number of his opinions. What strikes me most about him is his independent streak; I fully trust that Judge Alston will follow the law and his conscience, and this is a critical element for a federal Judge, or indeed any Judge IMHO.
Judge Alston will be a welcome addition to the Alexandria bench. According to some folks, the Court there has slowed down just a bit as a result of the retirements of several Judges, including, most recently, Judge Cacheris and Judge Lee. (Rest assured, it is still the Rocket Docket!) Judge Alston is young (relatively speaking) and I look forward to many years of court appearances before him.
