The Hon. Claire G. Cardwell is a judge for the 13th Judicial Circuit Court of Virginia. She was elected to the bench by the Virginia General Assembly on August 16, 2021.
The 13th Judicial Circuit encompasses the City of Richmond.
Prior to her election, Cardwell was a judge for the 13th Judicial District Court, a position to which she was named in 2017. Before that, she spent time as a partner at Stone Cardwell & Dinkin, supplementing her practice with service as a substitute judge in Henrico County as well as the acting capital defender for the Central Region of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission.
Cardwell earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia in 1980. She then completed a J.D. at the University of Richmond School of Law in 1984. As a law student, she interned with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office in Richmond.
After graduating from law school, Cardwell entered into private practice, working as a defense attorney alongside David Baugh. She remained with the firm until 1989, at which time she opened her own private practice as a sole practitioner. Then, in 1994, she was hired as the chief deputy commonwealth’s attorney for the Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
Her memberships have included the Board of Directors of the Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center and the Richmond Chapter of Housing Opportunities Made Equal.
She is a recipient of the Carrico Professionalism Award from the Virginia State Bar Criminal Law Section (2013).
Raised in Norfolk, Virginia, Cardwell attended Granby High School.