---
title: "David Bernhard | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-bernhard-va-court-of-appeals-of-virginia"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-07-26"
---

# David Bernhard

Court of Appeals of Virginia · Judge

## Profile

- Court: Court of Appeals of Virginia
- State: Virginia
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-26

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### cell phones and electronic devices

Scope: 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.

Evidence excerpt: 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](https://selfhelp.vacourts.gov/node/30/cell-phone-electronic-device-policy)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.vacourts.gov/static/directories/judges_rule115.pdf)
- [Official roster](https://www.vacourts.gov/static/directories/judges_rule115.pdf)
- [Office of the Executive Secretary, Supreme Court of Virginia official judicial roster](https://www.vacourts.gov/static/directories/judges_rule115.pdf)
- [Cell Phone & Electronic Device Policy](https://selfhelp.vacourts.gov/node/30/cell-phone-electronic-device-policy)

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## 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.