Doesn’t that sound good?
It didn’t receive much attention last week
Given the budget issues and the furor over the Cuccinelli Letter
But the Assembly decision to send Bill Mims to the Supreme Court
Was simply an excellent choice.
I’ve known Bill (excuse me, Justice Mims) for more than a decade.
He regularly came to the Virginia Politics class that I taught with Don Baker
(Baker used to tell the class that Mims was his favorite social conservative-though I think he said the same thing about Anne Kincaid as well).
You couldn’t but be impressed with how thoughtful he was in expressing his own beliefs
But I was always even more struck by how perceptive and even-handed he was in explaining the views of those with whom he disagreed and how they had come to hold their ideas.
Talk about a judicial temperament.
Mims was an excellent legislator.
Respected on both sides of the aisle.
You might recall his multi-year effort to address teen-age driver’s license issues and prevent some of the tragic deaths occurring on NOVA’s roads.
He was a superb presence in the AG’s office.
Offering wise advice to Bob McDonnell and then running the office himself as a consummate professional.
But he has the combination of intellect and empathy to be an even better Justice.
His colleagues on the Court will respect him immediately.
Moreover, if there’s anyone who may be capable of defusing some of the tension that has arisen in recent years between the Assembly and the Court,
It might well be him.
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