Cynthia D. Kinser at a glance
- Current role
- Former Judge
- Current assignment
- Supreme Court of Virginia
- Jurisdiction
- Virginia · State
- Judicial service
- Former
Cynthia D. Kinser
Former Judge · Supreme Court of Virginia
Biography
Professional career
- Judge, Supreme Court of Virginia, 1997-present
- After retiring in 2014, Kinser joined Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, LLP in Roanoke, Virginia, as Senior Counsel
- Chief Justice: Elected Chief Justice on August 31, 2010, she assumed the role on February 1, 2011, succeeding Leroy R. Hassell Sr
- Cynthia Kinser - On August 31, 2010, Kinser was elected to a four-year term as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, effective February 2010
- Federal judiciary: Appointed as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Virginia in 1990, she served until 1997
- She then practiced law briefly before serving as Commonwealth’s Attorney for Lee County, Virginia (1980–84).
- Cynthia Dinah Kinser is an American jurist best known as the first woman to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia
- She became the first female chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia
Education
- University of Virginia-Main Campus — J.D.
Additional information
- She held the position until her retirement at the end of 2014.
- She was elected by the Virginia General Assembly to a 12-year term in 1998 and re-elected in 2010.
- Commonwealth (2004), cited over 400 times.
- Virginia Supreme Court: In May 1997, Governor George Allen appointed her to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Virginia, with service starting July 8, 1997.
- Appointed by Republican Governor George Allen in 1997.
- Practitioner, 1996-1996
- Early roles: After earning a B.A. from the University of Tennessee (1974) and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law (1977), Kinser clerked for Judge Glen M. Williams on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia (1977–78).
- Born December 20, 1951, in Pennington Gap, Virginia.
- Date of birth: 1951-12-20
- focusing on appellate work, criminal matters, and government investigations.
- Kinser authored over 220 published opinions on the Virginia Supreme Court, including 13 dissents and 22 concurrences.
- Her most-cited case is Riner v.
- Her judicial philosophy was textualist and restrained, emphasizing strict adherence to the law as written and respect for separation of powers.
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Cell Phones And Electronic Devices
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Sources
Identity source checked August 22, 2026.
Biography sources checked October 11, 2026.
Supreme Court of Virginia current judicial profile
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Statewide source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
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