Allan Zaleski In The News: Two Virginia Judges in Trouble For Gaining New Term


Posted on Feb 04, 2008

Two Virginia judges in trouble for gaining new term
Virginia Lawyers Weekly
January 28, 2008

Two incumbent judges-Norfolk Circuit Judge Charles D. Griffith Jr. and John M. Farmer, a juvenile and domestic relations district judge in far Southwest Virginia-appear to face difficulty in getting reelected.

Neither encountered any substantive questions when they appeared before a joint committee of the House and Senate Courts of Justice committees last month, but they were not on the list of incumbents that the legislature reappointed earlier this month.

Much of Griffith's difficulty appears to stem from the sharp rebuke he received from the Supreme Court of Virginia in its reversal of a drug conviction in Wilson v. Commonwealth (VLW 006-6-065).

The court said Griffith's response to what he viewed as judge-shopping by defense attorney Allan D. Zaleski "raised concerns about the judge's impartiality in the case and about the public's perception of fairness in the case. "

According to the Supreme Court opinion, Griffith attempted to remove Zaleski from the case because Zaleski acknowledged that he had asked for a jury trial only because the case had been transferred to Griffith. Zaleski had been retained, however, so Griffith ordered him removed from the list of attorneys eligible for court appointment "effective immediately. "

After Griffith learned that the case had been reassigned to another judge and that Zaleski had requested a bench trial, Griffith asked the chief judge to assign the case to him because he believed that a defendant should not be allowed to avoid a particular courtroom by demanding a jury trial.

At the start of the trial, the prosecutor told Griffith that the parties had agreed to a four-year prison term at the last minute, in part because of a problem with exculpatory evidence.

Griffith refused to allow the parties to reduce the agreement to writing and directed them to try the case. He convicted the defendant and sentenced him to 30 years.

He was the city commonwealth's attorney when he was appointed to the bench, and some defense attorneys still believe him to be too prosecution-oriented.

Others are concerned that the reappointment might be caught up in politics. Control of the Senate switched from Republicans to Democrats after the November election, and the city now has no Republican as a member of its delegation.

Donald C. Schultz, president of the Norfolk & Portsmouth Bar Association, said he has written the Norfolk delegation to urge it to consider the reappointment of Griffith on the merits rather than on political considerations. The letter did not specifically recommend reappointment.

The two courts committees have invited Griffith to appear before them if he wishes, but no date has been set.

In the case of Farmer, who is based in Clintwood and sits in the district that includes Dickenson, Buchanan, Russell and Tazewell counties, Sen. Phillip P. Puckett, D-Tazewell, said he is not supporting Farmer for reappointment, and the legislature typically defers to the local delegation on such matters.

He said Farmer had suggested to him when he spoke to him about the reappointment that politics was involved, but Puckett said that is not the case.

"He is a fine person, a decent person," Puckett said of Farmer, but he had little experience in J&DR court before his appointment, and "I have received numerous complaints over the last six years. "

"We need to find qualified people to go on the bench and not let them learn on the job," Puckett said. He said he had told Farmer two weeks ago that he would reconsider his position if he received a groundswell of support for him. Since then, he has received one letter, Puckett said.

In re-electing judges, the General Assembly also appointed two circuit judges, a general district judge and three juvenile and domestic relations district judges where local delegations had agreed on a candidate.

In Fairfax County, Judge Robert J. Smith was elevated from general district court to circuit court and Bruce D. White, a partner in the Fairfax City firm of Brault Palmer Grove White & Steinhilber also was named to the circuit court. They will fill seats created by the retirement of Judges Arthur B. Vieregg Jr. and Kathleen H. MacKay.

Stephen D. Bloom was appointed to a general district seat in the Sixth District, and Croxton Gordon was named to a juvenile seat on the Eastern Shore, Janine M. Saxe to a juvenile seat in Fairfax and Florence A. Powell to a juvenile seat in Smyth County. Bloom, Gordon and Powell had been sitting as pro tempore appointees.

Circuit judges reappointed were A. Joseph Canada Jr., A. Bonwill Shockley, Glen A. Tyler and Patricia L. West from Virginia Beach, H. Vincent Conway from Newport News, Leslie M. Osborn from the 10th Circuit, James F. D'Alton Jr. from Petersburg, Michael C. Allen and Cleo E. Powell from the 12th Circuit, Gary A. Hicks and Catherine C. Hammond from Henrico County, Daniel R. Bouton from the 16th Circuit, Stanley P. Klein from Fairfax County, Bruce F. McCahill from the 20th Circuit, Dennis Lee Hupp from the 26th Circuit and Robert M.D. Turk from Radford.

General district judges given a new term were Colon H. Whitehurst of Chesapeake, Albert W. Patrick and Bonnie L. Jones of Hampton, Robert D. Laney of the 12th District, Robert A. Pustilnik of Richmond, William G. Barkley of the 16th District, Ian M. O'Flaherty and Lorraine Nordlund of Fairfax, Dean S. Worcester of the 20th District, Francis K. Burkart III of the 23rd Circuit and Wenda K. Travers of the 31st Circuit.

Juvenile judges reappointed were Jerry Hendrick Jr. of the 12th District, Angela E. Roberts of Richmond, Junius P. Warren of the 21st District, Jeff Hamilton of the 30th District and Janice J. Wellington of the 31st District.

Copyright 2008 Dolan Media Newswires
Virginia Lawyers Weekly

SECTION: NEWS
LENGTH: 944 words
HEADLINE: Two Virginia judges in trouble for gaining new term
BYLINE: Alan Cooper

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