Jacqueline F. Ward Talevi

Judge Talevi is the Chief Judge of the General District Court for the Twenty-Third District in Virginia. She earned her B.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and her J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law. Judge Talevi is a lecturer for the Virginia State Bar Association on a range of topics including criminal law and professionalism, and a lecturer for the Supreme Court of Virginia on a number of topics including training for new judges. She co-authored, with many other judges, the bench book for General District Court Judges. Judge Talevi served on the Problem Solving Court Commission which endorsed legislation to create problem solving courts in Virginia, and currently serves as a member on the Virginia Governor's Advisory Committee for the Center of Behavioral Health and Justice Committee. She is a member of the Mental Health Task Force of the Roanoke Valley, and a member of the Court Community Corrections Advisory Board. In July 2011, Judge Talevi created a therapeutic docket in Roanoke Valley to provide sentencing alternatives for individuals with mental health issues. She is currently a member of the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Committee working to establish a template for mental health dockets in the Commonwealth of Virginia.