RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — S. Bernard Goodwyn has been elected by his colleagues as the new chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the court announced Monday.

Goodwyn replaces Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons, who is stepping down from the position effective Dec. 31, according to a news release from the court. Goodwyn will step into the role he next day.

Goodwyn was appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia by Gov. Tim Kaine in 2007 and was unanimously elected by the General Assembly to the Supreme Court of Virginia in 2008. He was re-elected in 2020.

Lemons has served at every level of the court system in Virginia, including service as a substitute judge in general district court and in juvenile and domestic relations court. In 1995, he was elected by the General Assembly to be a judge in the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond. He was then elected by the General Assembly to serve as a Judge on the Court of Appeals of Virginia.

In 2000, Lemons was elected by the General Assembly as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia and again in 2012.