Cleo Elaine Powell (born January 12, 1957) is a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. She was sworn in on October 21, 2011, for a term ending on July 31, 2023. Justice Powell is the first African-American female to serve on Virginia's highest Court and the fifth woman to serve on the Court.[1]

Cleo Powell
Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia
Assumed office
August 1, 2011
Preceded byLeroy R. Hassell Sr.
Judge of the Virginia Court of Appeals
In office
August 15, 2008 – August 1, 2011
Appointed byTim Kaine
Preceded byLeRoy F. Millette Jr.
Succeeded byGlen A. Huff
Personal details
Born
Cleo Elaine Powell

(1957-01-12) January 12, 1957 (age 67)
Brunswick, Virginia, U.S.
SpouseAlvin Larnell Dilworth
EducationUniversity of Virginia (BA, JD)

Born in Brunswick County, Virginia, she received an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia in 1979 and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1982. Powell served at every level of Virginia's judicial system as a judge, working as a General District Court Judge in Chesterfield, Virginia and Colonial Heights, Virginia from 1993 until 2000, a Circuit Court Judge in the same jurisdictions from 2000 until 2008, and on the Court of Appeals of Virginia from 2008 until 2011.[2] In 2013, Powell was honored as one of the Library of Virginia's "Virginia Women in History".[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Cleo Powell, Va.'s first black female justice to be sworn in" WJLA. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  2. ^ "Powell sworn in as justice on Virginia Supreme Court" Archived January 5, 2013, at archive.today Richmond Times Dispatch
  3. ^ "Virginia Women in History: Cleo Elaine Powell". Library of Virginia. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
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Legal offices
Preceded by Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia
2011–present
Incumbent