THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 11, 1996 TAG: 9610110489
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 189 lines
Judge Luther C. Edmonds was forced to resign last month because he committed an ``ethical violation,'' not because fellow judges in Norfolk Circuit Court forced him out, says state Del. William P. Robinson Jr.
Robinson, who helped make Edmonds a judge eight years ago and still calls Edmonds ``a very good friend,'' says a judicial commission investigating Edmonds had evidence that Edmonds improperly heard cases involving a woman with whom he had a relationship.
``There was one witness that I know of to whom admissions had been made that there was indeed a relationship'' between Edmonds and former bail bondswoman Sherry Battle, Robinson said in an interview Monday.
Robinson declined to name the witness but said, ``I know as a matter of fact, because I am privy to information . . . that there was an ethical violation. And that is the reason the judge resigned.''
Robinson said he was coming forward now, one month after Edmonds' misconduct hearing and resignation, to correct misinformation put out by Edmonds about his resignation.
Edmonds quit Sept. 10, on the first day of a hearing against him by the state Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission.
On Sept. 25, Edmonds issued a 19-page written statement and answered questions from The Virginian-Pilot about his actions. He said he was forced out of office by the eight other judges of Norfolk Circuit Court for not being a ``go-along, get-along'' judge.
Edmonds, one of nine judges on the court, said he thought the other judges complained about him to the judicial commission because he would not go along with what he called their ``cover-up'' of widespread violations by bail bondsmen. He said some black bondsmen were held to different standards by the judges than other bondsmen, both black and white.
Edmonds also denied having any relationship with Battle or improperly hearing her cases from 1992 to 1996. He called those charges a ``red herring'' to draw attention away from the bondsmen problem.
On Tuesday, after hearing about Robinson's statement, Edmonds again denied having any relationship with Battle.
Battle could not be reached for comment this week. Her telephones have been disconnected. In an interview in July, she denied having any relationship with Edmonds.
On Tuesday, Edmonds said Robinson cannot possibly know what evidence the judicial commission heard against him in its short, closed-door hearing because Robinson was not there.
Such hearings are confidential under state law. Testimony is not released publicly unless formal charges are brought to the Virginia Supreme Court.
Edmonds' hearing never got that far. It ended abruptly after testimony from two witnesses: Thomas E. Baldwin, clerk of Norfolk General District Court, and Portsmouth Circuit Judge Johnny Morrison, a friend of Edmonds.
A dozen other witnesses were waiting to testify when the hearing was called off and Edmonds resigned.
Edmonds was a judge in General District Court for seven years before his promotion to Circuit Court last year. Baldwin, the district court clerk, testified for one hour. Morrison testified for 45 minutes.
Edmonds said he resigned not because of the testimony against him but because he could not be an effective judge while his colleagues were aligned against him.
On Monday, Robinson said that Edmonds resigned after a witness at the hearing testified, or told Edmonds' lawyers that he was about to testify, that Edmonds had admitted having a relationship with Battle.
Baldwin, the court clerk, said Tuesday he did not testify about Edmonds' relationship with Battle. He would not comment further on his testimony.
Morrison, the Portsmouth judge, has repeatedly declined to discuss his testimony. Edmonds also has refused to discuss Morrison's and Baldwin's testimonies.
State law says that all testimony and evidence presented at such hearings ``shall be confidential and shall not be divulged'' by anyone involved with the hearing, including witnesses. Robinson was not a witness.
On Tuesday, Edmonds accused Robinson of making his public statement about the hearing to curry favor with the other Norfolk judges. Robinson is a criminal defense attorney whose cases often are heard in Norfolk courts.
``I think the judges asked him to address the issues because they cannot respond,'' Edmonds said. ``I would say it would be very beneficial for him. He's certainly very popular with them, I'm sure. They love him and they owe him.''
Robinson said no one asked him to make his statement. He said he came forward to correct Edmonds' previous remarks.
``I just don't think that a misperception of this degree should be permitted, particularly when I know facts to the contrary,'' Robinson said.
Robinson said that Edmonds' resignation and later statement that he was pushed out of office ``is the kind of situation that can be very divisive in the community - the African-American community in particular.''
Edmonds is black, as is Robinson. Seven of the eight remaining judges in Norfolk Circuit Court are white. One is black.
Robinson said it was Edmonds' misconduct, not his investigation of bail bondsmen, that got him into trouble and prompted the judicial hearing against him.
``There is no basis in fact for anyone to say that the Norfolk Circuit Court judges had a vendetta against Luther and set about a task or agenda to get him removed from office,'' Robinson said. ``Obviously whatever there is or is not going on with the bail bondsmen would not be the basis for a JIRC investigation.''
Robinson said he expects some backlash for defending the other judges.
``Unquestionably, there will be some people who will criticize me for hurting the judge (Edmonds),'' Robinson said. ``To them I can only say truth has but one face, and I'll be judged by those who love truth.''
One case that raised conflict-of-interest accusations against Edmonds was a 1994 criminal case against Battle.
Robinson was personally involved. He was a special prosecutor, pressing charges against Battle of misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct. Battle was accused of attacking another bondsman with a stun gun in the lobby of General District Court in January 1994.
Before trial, all six judges in the district court, including Edmonds, excused themselves because they all knew Battle and the other bondsman. A judge was brought from Northern Virginia to hear the case.
Edmonds spelled out his reasons for excusing himself in a handwritten note, which is part of the court file. Edmonds wrote, ``Mr. Robinson has represented me within the past 18 mos. My impartiality might reasonably be questioned. I am disqualifying myself from this case for this reason and this reason only. I can hear this case only if the partner and lawyers all agree in writing to waive my disqualification. Canons of Judicial Conduct, Canon 3, C & D.''
On May 3, 1994, Battle was convicted by Judge Robert T.S. Colby of Alexandria and sentenced to six months in jail. Colby said Battle was ``the aggressor from the very start'' in her fight with the other bondsman.
Two weeks later, Battle's lawyer asked that the case be retried because a key defense witness had not been present.
Edmonds granted Battle's motion to retry the case on June 20, 1994, even though he had earlier removed himself from the case. That meant Battle's conviction was set aside and a new trial would be held. Eventually, Judge Benjamin N.A. Kendrick of Arlington overturned Edmonds' order, upholding the conviction.
Battle has since appealed that conviction, which means she is entitled to a new trial in Circuit Court. That has not been scheduled.
Robinson said it was improper for Edmonds to involve himself in the case. Since Edmonds had recused himself earlier, Robinson asked, ``How can you un-recuse yourself?''
Edmonds says he did nothing wrong. He says he made a mistake recusing himself the first time and simply changed his mind. ``There is nothing in the statute that would not permit a judge to reopen the case,'' Edmonds said.
Edmonds said Robinson had a vested interest in getting him off the case. ``My feeling is he doesn't necessarily want Miss Battle to get a fair trial,'' Edmonds said.
Edmonds has heard several other cases involving Battle since 1992, including three this May in which he overturned $11,909 in judgments against her. All other Norfolk judges had recused themselves from those cases because Battle had sued the court, claiming discrimination, and they feared the appearance of conflict of interest.
As for his resignation, Edmonds said he stands by his previous statement. ``Billy Robinson cannot speak for me. He can speak for himself, he can speak for the judges, but he cannot speak for me,'' Edmonds said.
Robinson said he speaks only for himself.
``Before any other inaccuracies are published by any other medium,'' Robinson said, ``I feel a responsibility to my community, to the people who elected me, to set the record straight.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
DEL. WILLIAM P. ROBINSON JR.
Says a commission had evidence that Edmonds improperly heard cases
involving a woman with whom he'd had a relationship.
JUDGE LUTHER C. EDMONDS
Maintains that the other Norfolk circuit judges forced him out
because he wouldn't go along with inconsistent standards for bail
bondsmen.
SHERRY BATTLE
Has denied having a relationship with Judge Edmonds. As a bail
bondswoman, several of her cases were heard in Edmonds' court.
Graphic
CANDIDATES FOR EDMONDS' REPLACEMENT
Gov. George F. Allen will name Luther Edmonds' replacement to
Norfolk Circuit Court this month, says Secretary of the Commonwealth
Betsy D. Beamer. At least nine candidates are being considered. Six
are on the ballot of the Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association for
possible endorsement:
Carter B.S. Furr
I. Lionel Hancock III
Joseph P. Massey
Kent P. Porter
Bruce A. Wilcox
General District Judge William P. Williams.
Three others are reportedly being considered in Richmond:
Junius P. Fulton III
General District Judge Gwendolyn Jones Jackson
Troy R. Spencer.
Norfolk legislators will make a recommendation next week. The bar
association will make endorsements next Friday. The black
legislative caucus is urging that another black be named.
The governor will decide in late October, Beamer says.
- Marc Davis
KEYWORDS: JUDGES NORFOLK by CNB