{"id":2601145,"date":"2026-05-11T09:54:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T13:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-consider-wiping-out-virginia-supreme-court\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T09:55:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T13:55:38","slug":"democrats-consider-wiping-out-virginia-supreme-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-consider-wiping-out-virginia-supreme-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats consider wiping out Virginia Supreme Court"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrats-consider-wiping-out-virginia-supreme-court%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2601145&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Virginia Democrats are reportedly considering a strategy to regain control of the Virginia Supreme Court after it struck down a redistricting referendum. The proposal, attributed to law professor Quinn Yeargain, would change Virginia\u2019s judge retirement policy by setting a new retirement age cutoff at 54-effectively forcing most sitting justices, including conservatives associated with the majority decision, into early retirement. <\/p>\n<p>The plan would reportedly use an appropriations\/legislative bill drafted by the General Assembly (where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/schumer-democrats-will-work-on-covid-19-package-alongside-impeachment-trial\/\" title=\"Schumer: Democrats Will Work on COVID-19 Package Alongside Impeachment Trial\">democrats hold majorities<\/a>), with Gov. Abigail Spanberger needing to sign it. Proponents suggest timing it around the budget cycle to pass the referendum before midterm elections. <\/p>\n<p>Not all Democrats on the reported strategy call supported the idea, and Republicans condemned it as \u201ccourt packing\u201d and an attack on the rule of law.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"249\">Democrats<\/a> are reportedly considering a plan to lower the retirement age of Virginia Supreme Court justices in an attempt to wipe out all sitting judges and replace them with people more likely to pass the 10-1 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/redistricting\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"241\">redistricting<\/a> referendum.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey have a simple\u2014and lawful\u2014solution: Send the entire court into early retirement,\u201d Quinn Yeargain, an Associate Professor of Law at the Michigan State University College of Law, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.the-downballot.com\/p\/how-virginia-democrats-can-overturn\">wrote<\/a> in <em>The Down Ballot<\/em>. \u201cThere are virtually no other options\u2014and none with as good a chance of success as this one.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4562158\/karen-bass-withdraw-la-mayor-forum\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Karen Bass exits LA mayor forum days after heated debate against Spencer Pratt<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4561698\/utah-supreme-court-justice-resigns-amid-investigation\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Utah Supreme Court Justice Diana Hagen resigns amid investigation<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4560952\/spencer-pratt-summer-campaign-los-angeles-mayor\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>LA mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt pushes \u2018pratt summer\u2019 in new campaign video<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>The <em>New York Times<\/em> was the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.the-downballot.com\/p\/how-virginia-democrats-can-overturn\">first to report<\/a> lawmakers had been told of Yeargain\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<div class=\"infogram-embed\" data-id=\"f8f867a0-e8bf-4aa7-b67a-0e5252c80a42\" data-type=\"interactive\" data-title=\"Judge retirement ages\"><\/div>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(e,n,i,s){var d=\"InfogramEmbeds\";var o=e.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];if(window[d]&&window[d].initialized)window[d].process&&window[d].process();else if(!e.getElementById(i)){var r=e.createElement(n);r.async=1,r.id=i,r.src=s,o.parentNode.insertBefore(r,o)}}(document,\"script\",\"infogram-async\",\"https:\/\/e.infogram.com\/js\/dist\/embed-loader-min.js\");<\/script>    <\/p>\n<p>Having a mandatory retirement age for judges is not uncommon. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Mandatory_retirement\">More than 30 states<\/a> have mandatory retirement ages or consequences for staying on the bench past a certain age. The ages in other states range from 70 to 90 years old, according to <em>Ballopedia<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Yeargain\u2019s idea is to have the General Assembly put forward an appropriations bill setting the retirement age for judges in Virginia at 54 \u2014 the age of the youngest judge who joined the majority opinion to strike down the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >redistricting referendum \u2014 effectively wiping<\/a> the conservatives off the bench. Currently, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacodefull\/title51.1\/chapter3\/\">Virginia<\/a> has a mandatory retirement age of 73.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny member who attains 73 years of age shall be retired 20 days after the convening of the next regular session of the General Assembly following his seventy-third birthday,\u201d the Code of Virginia says.<\/p>\n<p>In Virginia, the General Assembly also appoints judges, and Democrats have the majority in both chambers. Gov. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/4561455\/virginia-redistricting-ruling-democratic-finger-pointing\/\">Abigail Spanberger<\/a> (D-VA) would have to sign off on the bill.<\/p>\n<p>Yeargain suggests in his column that Virginia Democrats should slip the bill into the yearly budget, due on June 30, in an attempt to pass the referendum before the midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p>Virginia Democrats reportedly discussed the idea with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on a strategy call over the weekend, according to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/10\/us\/politics\/democrats-virginia-plans-gerrymandering.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hVA.KzAI.Wf17nRa9PSjl&#038;smid=nytcore-ios-share\"><em>New York Times<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have Republican states ignoring their constitutions and interrupting early voting and ignoring their Supreme Courts altogether,\u201d Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) said on the call, according to the outlet. \u201cWe know based on that, Republicans would explore every single option possible to move this forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The idea was not accepted by all the Democrats on the call. Former Rep. James P. Moran was a bit skeptical, calling the move \u201ca bridge too far.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do have to keep our credibility,\u201d Moran said. \u201cWe have to do things that pass the legitimacy test.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Republicans are fuming at the prospect and condemning Democrats for even considering the bill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDemocrats claim to be the \u201cdefenders of Democracy\u201d but they are the real tyrant kings,\u201d Rep. Jen Kiggins (R-VA), a representative in a district in limbo with the new map, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JenKiggans\/status\/2053637785345720612\">wrote<\/a> on X. \u201cThey don\u2019t like the Virginia Supreme Court\u2019s ruling on their gerrymandered maps so what\u2019s their answer?\u00a0 Fire the judges and put in puppets who will rule the way they want.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Democrats claim to be the \u201cdefenders of Democracy\u201d but they are the real tyrant kings. They don\u2019t like the Virginia Supreme Court\u2019s ruling on their gerrymandered maps so what\u2019s their answer?  Fire the judges and put in puppets who will rule the way they want.  This is not a\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jen Kiggans (@JenKiggans) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JenKiggans\/status\/2053637785345720612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 11, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cSure, if Abigail Spanberger wants to crater her already historically low approval rating into the 30s, go right ahead,\u201d former Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JasonMiyaresVA\/status\/2053546159050732016\">wrote<\/a> on X. \u201cNothing says \u2018rule of law\u2019 like court packing the Va Supreme Court for saying NO to your illegal and unconstitutional gerrymandering scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sure, if Abigail Spanberger wants to crater her already historically low approval rating into the 30s, go right ahead. Nothing says \u201crule of law\u201d like court packing the Va Supreme Court for saying NO to your illegal and unconstitutional gerrymandering scheme. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xQWwZ2S6FY\">https:\/\/t.co\/xQWwZ2S6FY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JasonMiyaresVA\/status\/2053546159050732016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cDemocrats are threatening to PACK THE COURT with partisan liberals to ram through their rigged map anyways,\u201d Virginia GOP <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/VA_GOP\/status\/2053511649848361407\">posted<\/a> on X. \u201cJust more proof that Democrats never cared about \u2018fairness\u2019 or \u201cdemocracy.\u201d Only their own lust for power.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is banana republic, total institution-destroying MADNESS!\u201d <em>Washington Examiner\u2019s<\/em> Guy Benson <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/guypbenson\/status\/2053639393865249144\">said<\/a> on FOX News. \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/10\/us\/politics\/democrats-virginia-plans-gerrymandering.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hVA.KzAI.Wf17nRa9PSjl&#038;smid=nytcore-ios-share\">The <em>New York Times<\/em><\/a>  is reporting about these machinations at least being discussed by some Democrats at high levels, one of which involves taking out the entire state Supreme Court, just basically going back retroactively and saying, oh, you\u2019re all too old. The new cutoff is 54!\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">On Democrats\u2019 new, deeply insane fever dream in Virginia, as reported by the NYT: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Kf3RvCiVxG\">pic.twitter.com\/Kf3RvCiVxG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Guy Benson (@guypbenson) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/guypbenson\/status\/2053639393865249144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 11, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Benson went on to say, \u201cIf they seriously consider either of these things, it is seismic and like a red flag moment for the democracy that they pretend to care about. Don\u2019t do this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When political analyst Larry Sabato was asked if he would support this attempt to clean out the Virginia Supreme Court, he <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LarrySabato\/status\/2053509592852632038\">responded<\/a>, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">These people are having a normal 48 hours\u2026. \ud83d\udc40 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TlzLZdu3uU\">https:\/\/t.co\/TlzLZdu3uU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Harmeet K. Dhillon (@HarmeetKDhillon) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HarmeetKDhillon\/status\/2053614393003266424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4562122\/virginia-democrats-spelling-mistakes-redistricting-documents\/\"><strong>VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS ROASTED OVER SPELLING MISTAKES IN REDISTRICTING DOCUMENTS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Harmeet Dhillon, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-antrim-co-forensic-report-bombshell-reveals-dominion-machines-were-set-at-68-05-error-ratemeaning-68-05-of-ballots-could-be-sent-out-for-mass-adjudication-giving-individuals-or-ma\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Antrim Co. Forensic Report BOMBSHELL Reveals Dominion Machines Were Set At 68.05% Error Rate\u2026Meaning 68.05% Of Ballots Could Be Sent Out For Mass Adjudication, Giving Individuals Or Machines Ability To Change 68.05% Of Votes\">assistant attorney general<\/a> of the Department of Justice\u2019s Civil Rights Division, sarcastically responded to Sabato\u2019s post, saying, \u201cThese people are having a normal 48 hours\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHoly cow!\u201d one user <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PaulJoh32474703\/status\/2053562861264236968\">wrote<\/a> on X. \u201cIf they do this Spanberger will have zero national viability.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats reportedly plan to lower Virginia Supreme Court retirement ages to replace judges and help pass the 10-1 redistricting referendum<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2745,"featured_media":2601146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/supreme-court-AP.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3685,32275,5468],"class_list":["post-2601145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-democrats","tag-supreme-court","tag-virginia"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/supreme-court-AP.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2745"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2601145"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2601149,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601145\/revisions\/2601149"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2601146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2601145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2601145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2601145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}