---
title: "Manuel A. Capsalis | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/manuel-a-capsalis-va-fairfax-circuit-court"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-07-26"
---

# Manuel A. Capsalis

Fairfax Circuit Court · Judge

## Profile

- Court: Fairfax Circuit Court
- 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

- Before this, he was a judge in the 19th Judicial District Court (General District Court) of Fairfax County since 2015.
- Judge of the 19th Judicial Circuit Court of Virginia, elected by the Virginia General Assembly in 2022, with a long career in law enforcement, prosecution, and judicial service
- 2015–2022: Judge, 19th Judicial District Court, Fairfax County
- Pre-2015: Partner at Capsalis Fitzgerald, PLLC
- 2003–2015: Substitute judge in Virginia’s General District Courts
- 1989–1992 & 1994–2015: Deputy Town Attorney and Prosecutor for the Town of Herndon

### Education

- George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School — J.D. (1988)
- in History – George Mason University — M.A. (1984)
- Duke University — B.A. (1981)

### Additional information

- His term runs until 2027.
- 19th Judicial Circuit Court of Virginia in Fairfax County, a position he assumed on August 1, 2022 after being elected by the Virginia General Assembly.
- handling criminal and civil litigation.
- Judge Capsalis has been past president of the Virginia State Bar and served on multiple boards, including the Virginia State Bar’s Conference of Local Bar Associations, the Diversity Conference Board, and the Virginia Law Foundation’s Fellows Committee.
- He has also taught in the State Bar’s Harry L. Carrico Professionalism Course and Law School Professionalism Program.