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

DATE: SATURDAY, June 18, 1994                   TAG: 9406210115
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

4 NEW JUDGES TAKE THE OATH

Four men donned black robes Friday and were sworn in as new judges for the Roanoke Valley.

Joseph Bounds, Bill Broadhurst, Vincent Lilley and Richard Pattisall - who were appointed by the General Assembly to fill positions in all three levels of the valley's state courts - will begin their new jobs next month.

They took the oath of office Friday in a Roanoke County courtroom that overflowed with friends, family members and colleagues. Those who could not fit inside watched the ceremony on a television monitor in the hallway.

It was the first time in recent history that the 23rd Judicial Circuit, which includes Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem, has had so many judges appointed in one year.

At its last session, the General Assembly approved two new judgeships to deal with growing caseloads, one in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court and one in Circuit Court.

The other two judges were named to replace General District Judge Edward Kidd, who is retiring next month after 15 years on the bench, and Pattisall, a judge who is moving from General District to Circuit Court.

Bounds, who will become the valley's fourth judge in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, has practiced law in Roanoke for 24 years. He has served as an assistant commonwealth's attorney and a substitute judge.

Broadhurst, who was appointed to replace Kidd in General District Court, has worked as a clerk to a state Supreme Court justice, as an assistant public defender, in private practice and, most recently, as an assistant commonwealth's attorney for Roanoke County.

Lilley, who will replace Pattisall in General District Court, most recently had his own law practice in Salem. He has also served as an assistant commonwealth's attorney for Roanoke County.

Pattisall, who will become the sixth Circuit Court judge in the valley, was appointed a General District Court judge in 1989. Before that, he was in private practice in Roanoke for 27 years.

Bounds, Lilley and Pattisall will begin their six-year terms July 1; Broadhurst is scheduled to start July 16.

by CNB