ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, November 27, 1996 TAG: 9611270066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK
ROANOKE LAWYER Jonathan Apgar was chosen over six other candidates to replace retiring Judge G.O. Clemens.
Jonathan Apgar, a Roanoke lawyer whose 20-year career has included jobs as a prosecutor and public defender, was endorsed by his colleagues Tuesday to fill a Circuit Court judgeship.
The Salem-Roanoke County Bar Association picked Apgar over six other candidates to replace Judge G.O. Clemens, who will retire at the end of the year after 17 years on the bench.
"I'm humbled and flattered that my colleagues have that kind of trust and faith in me," Apgar said after the vote.
The Roanoke Bar Association will meet Monday to make an endorsement, president Charles Cornelison said. If Apgar wins the city bar's endorsement, he would be considered the leading candidate for the appointment, which will be made next year by the General Assembly.
But if the city bar backs another candidate, the Roanoke Valley's legislators would have to decide between the two nominees - or perhaps select a third.
The position is one of six judgeships in the 23rd Judicial Circuit, which includes Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem. Clemens heard cases primarily in Salem and Roanoke County.
Apgar practices law from a Campbell Avenue office, and has served as a substitute judge in the General District and Juvenile and Domestic Relations courts since 1986. He also has worked as an assistant public defender and assistant commonwealth's attorney for Roanoke.
Other lawyers seeking the nomination Tuesday were Roanoke General District Judge Vincent Lilley; Roanoke Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Joseph Bounds; and Roanoke lawyers Stan Barnhill, Philip Coulter, Charles Dorsey and Jane Glenn.
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