Judge Helivi L. Holland: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

The Hon. Helivi L. Holland is a judge on the 5th Judicial Circuit Court of Virginia. She was appointed to the bench by the Virginia General Assembly on October 1, 2024.

The 5th Judicial Circuit encompasses the City of Suffolk as well as Isle of Wright County and Southampton County. Holland holds the distinction of being the first woman to preside on the 5th Judicial Circuit Court.

Prior to her appointment, Holland was a judge on the 5th Judicial District Court, a position to which she was named in 2021. Before that, she spent time as the city attorney for the City of Suffolk (2012 to 2021) as well as the director of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (2010 to 2012).

Holland earned a B.S. from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1987. She then completed a J.D. at William & Mary Law School in 1990. She was licensed to practice in Virginia (1991).

After graduating from law school, Holland began her legal career as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney with the Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney’s Office and the Suffolk Commonwealth's Attorney’s Office. She served in that capacity for eighteen years, prosecuting child support, domestic violence, and gun and drug cases. Then, in 2008, she became a deputy city attorney with the Suffolk County City Attorney’s Office, where she represented the Department of Social Services and the Department of Human Resources.

Her memberships have included the Old Dominion Bar Association. She has also been involved with the boards of directors of the Children’s Center, the Suffolk Education Foundation, the Genieve Shelter, and the Suffolk Chapter of the American Red Cross. Holland he has taught as an adjunct professor at Paul D. Camp Community College and William & Mary Law School, and she sits as a grader for the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners.

Holland is a recipient of the Victim Assistance Award from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice and the Lloyd Sealy Award from the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.

She was a resident of Suffolk, Virginia, at the time of her appointment.