Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 7, 1990                   TAG: 9003071770
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

LAWYER GETS JUDGESHIP NOMINATION

Wilson, a lawyer with Woods, Rogers & Hazlegrove, was considered the front-runner in a pool of three candidates recommended by U.S. Sen. John Warner to succeed retiring U.S. District Judge Glen Williams of Lee County.

"I am confident that Sam Wilson will be an excellent addition to the federal judiciary in our state," Warner said in a news release. "I have been assured that citizens in the Abingdon and Big Stone Gap areas will continue to receive the same exemplary service from their federal court that Judge Williams has provided for years."

Wilson declined to comment at any length about his nomination but did say that he was "grateful."

The nomination will go to a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, then to the Senate floor and finally back to the president for confirmation.

If confirmed, Wilson, 40, would be one of the younger federal judges in the United States.

Wilson, a Norfolk native, served as an assistant commonwealth's attorney in Roanoke from 1974 to 1976 and served in 1976 as an assistant U.S. attorney until he was appointed a U.S. magistrate for the Western District later that year. He joined Woods Rogers in 1981.

Wilson, who was endorsed by the Roanoke Bar Association, the largest lawyer group in Western Virginia, is considered a safe choice without political risk. He has good Republican credentials and comes from a respected law firm.

Wilson's nomination was a disappointment to Republicans in Williams' home district, who had embarked on a noisy political effort to push Warner into endorsing a candidate from the 9th Congressional District, specifically, Birg Sergent, a 52-year-old Pennington Gap lawyer.

Sergent, along with Wilson and Ronnie Montgomery, a lawyer from Jonesville, comprised the list of three Virginia lawyers recommended by Warner in January.

"We conducted ourselves honorably. We did not get personalities into it. We were in total communication and yet it didn't go through," said Jim Ferreira, 9th District GOP chairman. "It's sort of like playing a perfect game and then you don't win. We trusted too long. We played full court press a little late."

Ferreira said Wilson's nomination underscores the perception of the 9th District as "a bunch of hillbillies."

"Once you understand the structure and you read how well Judge Williams conducted himself during the coal strike, you see why we feel the way we do," he said. "Judge Williams is who we were replacing and that's what we were looking for. Birg Sergent was that person. He has a tremendous understanding of people down here and would have made an excellent judge."

Williams is not actually leaving the bench, but taking senior status. As a senior judge, he may take the cases he wants to hear. He has said he plans to continue carrying a caseload.

Warner first submitted three names for consideration to fill the vacancy - state GOP Chairman Donald Huffman, U.S. Attorney John Perry Alderman and Sergent - in March 1989. Of the three, only Sergent remained under consideration.

Warner said in January that Sergent should be given priority consideration because he was first recommended last March.

Alderman - nominated after the White House decided to pass over Huffman, Warner's personal favorite for the job - unexpectedly announced his withdrawal from consideration last month. He cited personal reasons for dropping his nomination, which had been backed by the White House and was awaiting confirmation by a Senate committee.

The Western District of Virginia runs from Lynchburg west to the tip of the state in Lee County, and the judge who hears cases in Abingdon and Big Stone Gap can come from anywhere in the district.

Republicans in Roanoke have argued that there has been no federal judge from the Roanoke area for years and that it is their turn. And while Roanoke lawyers have said it is time for a federal judge to come from the city, attorneys who practice law farther west wanted one of their own.

Several Southwest Virginia bar associations passed resolutions urging Warner to appoint someone from the coalfields. Wilson has said that he would be willing to move to Abingdon for the judgeship.