President Barack Obama yesterday nominated two more judges, both from North Carolina, for the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. If appointed, Albert Diaz would be the first Hispanic to serve on the 15-judge court, and the other, James Wynn, would be the fourth African-American, said Carl Tobias of the University of Richmond School of Law.

Election: If the committees agree, the names go to the full assembly of 40 senators and 100 delegates for a vote.  Impasse: If the full assembly cannot agree on a candidate, a judgeship can go unfilled and the governor may appoint a judge. Re-election: Lawmakers on the courts committees take into consideration evaluation forms filled out by lawyers who practice before the judges.

Virginia is one of only two states in which the legislature elects judges. Legislators say the system works well, despite the potential for political favoritism. But there is a groundswell of discontent among Virginia residents who find the system mysterious and impenetrable. They have appealed to legislators, but they’re now broadening their crusade for a wholesale evaluation of the judicial-selection process.

Several area lawyers agree that Virginia’s method for selecting judges is preferable to a general election, but they suggest there still is room for improvement. Judges in Virginia are elected by state lawmakers. But that process should be reviewed, said Louisa County Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Rusty McGuire, because a candidate’s political loyalty sometimes is given greater weight than his or her experience.

Preview a Sunday report on how Virginia judges are selected and evaluated.

State lawmakers may be nearing an agreement with the Virginia Supreme Court on whether evaluations of judges who are up for reappointment should be open to the public. The evaluations are designed to help judges with self-improvement and to inform legislators who reappoint them. But an order from the state Supreme Court stipulates that only members of the General Assembly should view the evaluations. Lawmakers say that oversteps the separation of powers and puts them in a tough spot with constituents.

Tomorrow the new Congress meets. Mark Warner will take the oath of office to become Virginia’s junior senator and will join Jim Webb in giving the state its first all-Democratic senatorial delegation in almost 40 years.

J. Samuel Johnston said he saw the good in 99 percent of the people who stood before him during his 31 years as a Campbell County judge. “And those who aren’t, you deal with them in the right way,“ Johnston said shortly after his portrait was unveiled this week in the county’s circuit courtroom. Family, friends, local officials, lawyers and judges gathered to honor Johnston, a man they said showed great character through his sense of humor and fairness.

Judicial selection rates as one of the low points of the Bush years. All sides share the stain. Democrats filibustered qualified nominees. The administration did not submit names in a timely fashion, and sometimes seemed as interested in picking fights as in placing talent on the federal bench. Republicans threatened the nuclear option. The Gang of 14 bipartisan compromise earned scorn from purists on the right and on the left.