Chief Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn of the Supreme Court of Virginia has announced his retirement, effective Jan. 1, 2026.

His departure will coincide with the conclusion of his term as chief justice, which began Jan. 1, 2022. 

Goodwyn was appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia in 2007 by then-Gov. Timothy M. Kaine. He was unanimously elected by the General Assembly in 2008 and re-elected in 2020. Before joining the Supreme Court, he served more than 10 years as a judge on the Circuit Court for the City of Chesapeake and two years on the city’s General District Court.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Conference of Chief Justices and chairs its Criminal Justice Committee. He is also a former co-chair of the Virginia Access to Justice Commission and a recipient of the Virginia Bar Association’s Gerald L. Baliles Distinguished Service Award.

Before his judicial career, Goodwyn was a research associate professor at the University of Virginia School of Law and a litigation partner at a Norfolk law firm. He earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 1983 and his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1986.