Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 20, 1990 TAG: 9007200028
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Just ask three of the valley's contenders for U.S. attorney for the state's Western District.
Rod Layman, a Pulaski lawyer with the firm of Crowell, Nuckols, Layman & Aust; Everett Shockley, commonwealth's attorney for Pulaski County; and Terry Teel, a Christiansburg lawyer in private practice, all were recommended for the position by Sen. John Warner, R-Va., last week.
The three are vying against two Roanoke lawyers and two lawyers from the western end of the state. The other candidates are Robert Goodlatte, former 6th District Republican chairman and a partner in the Roanoke firm of Bird, Kinder & Huffman; E. Montgomery Tucker of Roanoke, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District since 1976; Jerry Kilgore of Gate City, an assistant U.S. attorney in Abingdon; and Randall Lowe of Abingdon, partner in the firm of Yeary, Tate, Lowe & Jessee.
The lawyers applied for the position, which has its offices in Roanoke, in early May, after John Perry Alderman announced he would leave.
The experience they've gained over the years will play a large part in deciding who gets to be the region's federal prosecutor.
And then there's politics.
"They've all been active to some degree in Kiwanis Club or Rotary or doing community work - all those things have to count for something," said Jim Ferriera of Abingdon, former chairman of the 9th District Republican Party.
"They're all Republicans," Ferriera said. "Until the point of confirmation, that counts for a lot. After that, politics have nothing to do with it."
In the meantime, there are phone calls to be made and letters to be written.
"I guess I'll start talking to people who know me and might put in a good word," said Teel, 39. Teel's father, Ward Teel, is the new GOP chairman for the 9th District.
After that, said Phillip Smith, a spokesman for Warner, "It's a matter of sitting and waiting."
The lawyers will wait while the Justice Department examines their credentials and narrows the list to a more manageable number. Originally, more than a dozen people had asked to be considered for the post, Smith said.
The smaller group of attorneys will wait again while the FBI does a background check. Then the finalists' names will be forwarded to President Bush to name the nominee, who then must be approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Warner is not touting one name above the others.
"At least until such time as the Justice Department has conducted its preliminary screening, I am not expressing a preference for any of the candidates," he wrote in a release.
But there's no question that the appointment of a 9th District candidate would mean a lot to politicians in Southwest Virginia who are still touchy about the last federal appointment, when Sam Wilson, a lawyer from Roanoke in the 6th District, was named to fill the seat vacated by U.S. District Judge Glen Williams of Lee County.
"I guess we look at this appointment as unrelated," Ferriera said. "Let's just say it would be a big help if a person from the 9th got this appointment." The 9th District, often called "The Fightin' Ninth" for its rough-and-tumble politics, extends from Montgomery County west to the end of the state.
The 9th District GOP sent Warner a list of preferences for the position: Layman first, followed by Shockley, then Kilgore. Teel had not yet made his interest known.
"We presented them in a fair way - a subtle way," Ferriera said. "We voted and I hope that counts for something."
Smith said Warner tries to locate the best attorneys he can find to recommend for the positions. "It's not something he takes lightly."
The contenders probably will seek endorsements from local bar associations, Ferriera said. And try to find people who will laud their accomplishments.
Layman received a bachelor's degree from Bridgewater College, a master's degree from Indiana University and a juris doctor degree in 1963 from the University of Richmond. He served in the governor's Cabinet as secretary of public safety and as chairman of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. A former college political science teacher, Layman is chairman of the Pulaski Republican Committee.
Shockley graduated from Virginia Tech and received a juris doctor degree from William and Mary's Marshall-Wythe School of Law. After three years of private practice, he was elected Pualski County's commonwealth's attorney, defeating a 16-year incumbent. He was re-elected in 1987 without opposition.
Teel graduated from David Lipscomb College and received a juris doctor degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law. He has been practicing law in Christiansburg since 1977. He is a member of the Montgomery County Republican Committee.
by CNB