David Bernhard

About David Bernhard

David Bernhard is a judge of the Court of Appeals of Virginia. He is the first immigrant and Hispanic/Latino to serve on a Virginia appellate court. Until December 31, 2024, he was a Circuit Court Judge of the 19th Judicial Circuit Court of Virginia (Fairfax), elected by the Virginia General Assembly for a term commencing July 1, 2017. He is only the second immigrant and the first Hispanic/Latino immigrant elected Circuit Court Judge in Virginia.He has been an early proponent and implementer of developing evidence-based sentencing and pre-trial practices effective in obviating recidivism.Since assuming office, he declined to impose discretionary cash bond release conditions on those accused of crimes. He was persuaded by judicial training under the auspices of the Supreme Court of Virginia of the emerging view that such monetary requirements often amount to \"wealth-based detention\" for the poor and do little to ensure public safety in providing false comfort for release of the dangerous. He exercised judicial discretion to inform jurors during jury selection of the penalty ranges a defendant faces in the context of examining sentencing bias and reducing the chance of mistrials, setting forth his reasoning in a published opinion. Effective July 1, 2020, the General Assembly codified this practice into law as a right the Commonwealth and Defense may exercise.As a Circuit Court judge he played a prominent role in promoting merit diversity in the judiciary such as by enhancing the talent pool from which substitute judges are appointed, and in enacting and implementing the Court\'s landmark plan addressing systemic racism (https://bit.ly/2UD7Oy1), and handled a wide variety of cases of significant complexity as exemplified by numerous published Letter Opinions, which often addressed matters of first impression in Virginia jurisprudence (https://bit.ly/3nNEeiJ).As a Court of Appeals judge, he has already authored numerous opinions, several on matters of first impression, which can be found here: https://webdev.vacourts.gov/dynamic/wpcap.htmhttps://webdev.vacourts.gov/dynamic/wpcau.htm-State Bar admissions (currently judicial or inactive status): By bar examination: Maryland (1989), Virginia (1988), Missouri (1986)By waiver through score: District of Columbia (1987)

Experience

1. Judge - Court of Appeals of Virginia

   Commonwealth Of Virginia

   Jan 2025 — Present

   Presides over appeals of right resulting in written opinions and orders.

Education

• Brandeis University

  BA - Economics, Political Science

  1980 — 1983

• Northfield Mount Hermon

  High School Diploma

  1978 — 1980

• Washington University in St. Louis School of Law

  Juris Doctor, Law

  1983 — 1985