David Bernhard at a glance
- Current role
- Judge
- Jurisdiction
- Virginia · State
- Judicial service
- Active
David Bernhard
Judge · Court of Appeals of Virginia
Biography
Professional career
- Judge on the Virginia Court of Appeals, elected in 2024 to an eight‐year term beginning January 1, 2025, and is the first Hispanic/Latino American and first immigrant to serve on a Virginia appellate court
- Judicial Service: Judge, 19th Judicial Circuit (Fairfax County), 2017–2024
- First Hispanic judge on a Virginia circuit court
Education
- B.A. in Economics & Political Science, Brandeis University (1983) J.D., Washington University School of Law (1985)
Additional information
- Appointed by: Virginia General Assembly (March 7, 2024)
- Co‐founded and moderated VADefenses Listserv (2005–2017).
- Partnered with Cheryl Gardner at Bernhard & Gardner (1991–2017).
- Legal Practice: Admitted to Virginia (1988), Maryland (1989), D.C. (1987), Missouri (1986).
- Born: 1962, San Salvador, El Salvador
- Predecessor: Glen A. Huff (retired)
- Notable: First Hispanic/Latino American and first immigrant elected to a Virginia appellate court
- Languages: English, Spanish, German
- Bernhard sought asylum in the U.S. as a college student due to family endangerment from leftist guerrillas in El Salvador.
- His father, a German Jew who fled Nazi persecution, left behind a gold coin that Bernhard still keeps as a symbol of his family’s sacrifice.
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Cell Phones And Electronic Devices
Statewide
Virginia courts commonly restrict cell phones and other electronic devices in court buildings; counsel and litigants should check the local court policy before arrival.
Most courts in Virginia do not allow you to bring a cell phone or other electronic device into the building.Cell Phone & Electronic Device Policy ↗
Sources
Identity source checked July 26, 2026.
Biography sources checked October 11, 2026.
Office of the Executive Secretary, Supreme Court of Virginia official judicial roster
Identity source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Office of the Executive Secretary, Supreme Court of Virginia official judicial roster ↗Cell Phone & Electronic Device Policy
Statewide source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Cell Phone & Electronic Device Policy ↗