On July 1, 2025, the General Assembly amended Code § 17.1-403 and authorized the Court of Appeals (“CAV”) to dispense with oral argument “if the panel has examined the briefs and record and unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary because . . . the facts and legal arguments are adequately presented in the briefs and record, and the decisional process would not be significantly aided by oral argument.” Before this proposed change, the CAV was only permitted to dispense with oral argument in meritless appeals or if the dispositive issue was authoritatively decided and the appellant made no argument to overturn, extend, modify, or reverse that authority.
This amendment is not immediately effective, as the Supreme Court is required to promulgate rules governing this new form of summary disposition, and the impact it will have on the CAV’s practices is yet to be determined. From our experience in the state and federal appellate courts, we suspect three possible outcomes:
- At one extreme, the CAV could follow the Fourth Circuit’s practice and decide the bulk of its docket without oral argument.
- At the other extreme, the CAV could choose to hear the overwhelming majority of its cases, as it does now.
- In the middle, the CAV could decide to resolve certain types of cases—e.g. pro se appeals or cases with deferential standards of review—without oral argument while hearing from the parties on the rest of its docket.
We will be keeping a close eye on how this unfolds and will share updates as the Supreme Court finalizes the new rules. These changes could reshape the appellate landscape in Virginia—and impact how attorneys prepare for, and manage, cases on appeal.
