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Justin D. Midkiff will run for another term as the Circuit Court Clerk for Buckingham County. 

“Having performed my official duties with unswerving integrity and fearless determination these past four years, I would be honored to continue this journey as a public servant for the citizens of Buckingham,” Midkiff said in a statement issued by his campaign.  

Midkiff’s 2018 campaign embarked on a “New Frontier”,  which he said will continue to support his mission and vision for the Buckingham Circuit Court and Clerk’s Office to assist the judges in providing what he says is “an independent, accessible, and responsive forum for the just resolution of disputes and to provide an effective, efficient, and productive management system to guarantee high court performance and quality public services for all individuals.”

Looking back over his time as clerk, Midkiff detailed several changes he implemented, including: 

1. Obtaining $102,234.00 in grant funds from the Circuit Court Records Preservation Program through the Library of Virginia to preserve Buckingham’s oldest records including Land Books, Marriage Licenses, and Indexes dating back to 1869. 
2. The creation of concealed handgun permits now issued on hard, plastic cards instead of paper permits.  A taxpayer-free initiative. 
3. Installation of a Debit/Credit Card machine to take transactions and the ability to pay court costs and restitution by telephone and on-line. 
4. Expanding the Secure Remote Access Program for public access by electronic means to court and land records.  Fees from this subscription have paid for innovations in the Office without using public funds.  This has benefited Buckingham as most of the remote users (lawyers and title companies) reside outside of the County. 
5. Digitizing the entire plat cabinet containing large slides of surveyed land now accessible on our online record system.  
6. Digitizing majority of the Deed Book archive back to 1922.
7. An updated webpage on the County’s website informing citizens of broad information about the Circuit Court, including jury service, land records, court costs, marriage applications, and administrative information.  “This would not have been possible without County IT Specialist, Jamie Shumaker,” stated Midkiff. 
8. Adoption of a new jury management system providing jurors with information via text message notifications and online services. 
9. The Clerk’s Office is now a fully “file-less” management system for processing all court documents, criminal and civil. 
10. Instituting “state-of-the-art” technological infrastructure to provide participants the ability to view evidence by television, take part in hearings remotely, and broadcast proceedings outside of the courtroom.  “These innovative, and now expected, public services would not have been possible without the assistance of the County, the Court, and the former Commonwealth’s Attorney, E. M. Wright, Jr., through COVID-19 funding,” said Midkiff. 
11. Creation of an organized record management policy and procedures for the Office to guide record retention, schedules, and storage. 
12. Reformation of various court orders including conviction, sentencing, and revocation. 

Midkiff says thanks to staff

“All the constitutional obligations of the Office and Circuit Court would not be carried out without my prominent and dedicated staff. I am fortunate to have Kim Wooten as Chief Deputy Clerk, and Diane Jamerson, Kara Kitchen, and Sarah Haines-Allen as Deputy Clerks,” Midkiff expressed. 

“These actions provide the groundwork for my continued mission to better serve the residents of Buckingham and effectively manage our state and local budgets to provide high court performance and quality public services,” he added.  

By the end of 2023, Midkiff plans to become a “Master Clerk” as a Certified Court Manager through the National Center for State Courts to better serve the Office. 

“I look forward to continuing as your Circuit Court Clerk, a role I continue to invest in every day,” Midkiff said. “I would appreciate your support this November 7, 2023.”