Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 17, 1994 TAG: 9411170124
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Updike and attorney Bob Wandrei are the leading Bedford County candidates for the seat of General District Judge James Farmer, who will retire in June. The county bar association, which is voting on the matter this week, will announce its endorsement Monday.
Lynchburg Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Sally Steele and Lynchburg attorney Harold Black also are seeking the judgeship.
Bar associations in Amherst and Nelson counties and Lynchburg, which are in the same judicial district as Bedford County, also will make recommendations for the judgeship, which will be decided by the General Assembly next year.
Amherst and Nelson counties' joint bar association has nominated three candidates - Updike, Black and Lynchburg attorney Bill Light. Lynchburg's bar association, which has not announced its candidates, rates them based on questionnaires filled out by members. It then forwards the results to the General Assembly.
Updike, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination for attorney general in 1993, said the judgeship would mean an end to his ambitions for statewide political office.
"I'm seeking the appointment and making my interest in it known to the various bar associations," Updike said. "Should I be appointed as a judge, I would be prohibited from any political activity, and rightly so."
Updike, a Bedford native, graduated from the University of Virginia and got his law degree from the College of William and Mary. He has been with the Bedford Commonwealth's Attorney's office since 1978, when he was hired by Harry Garrett.
A year later, when Garrett did not seek re-election, Updike, then 26, ran unopposed and became the youngest elected prosecutor in the state to that time.
He gained fame with his dramatic courtroom style during the widely publicized Jens Soering murder case, in which the UVa honor student and his girlfriend, Elizabeth Haysom, were convicted of killing Haysom's parents.
Soering's case came up during a time when the state was experimenting with cameras in the Bedford courtroom, and Updike gained wide esposure. A few years later, he was defeated by Bill Dolan for the Democratic nomination for state attorney general.
Wandrei, the other candidate from Bedford County, said he thought Updike was interested in a higher office than the judgeship, but "I guess maybe he's changed his mind." Wandrei has practiced law in Bedford since 1968.
Del. Lacey Putney, I-Bedford, and Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County, will have a lot to do with pushing the nomination of any new judge through the General Assembly.
Putney, who practices law in Bedford County, said, "Whichever Bedford County candidate is named [by the Bedford County Bar Association], you better believe I'll support them. I think Bedford is entitled to have a local sitting judge. We are the fastest-growing county west of I-95. Our caseload has grown dramatically in recent years."
Cranwell could not be reached for comment, but some observers say he may be inclined to support a candidate from Bedford County, because some precincts in his House district are in the county.
Bedford attorney Garrett said that, although he likes Wandrei, he will support Updike for the bar association endorsement. "Jim is a tireless worker, a master of preparation. I think he will bring the same intensity to the bench that he brings to the job of commonwealth's attorney."
Linda Willis, an assistant public defender, said Updike would make a fine judge. "He's a very tough prosecutor, and he's a very good lawyer. I've found him to be very easy to deal with and very fair."
If Updike is appointed judge, the Bedford County Circuit Court will appoint a new commonwealth's attorney until a special election can be held.
Staff writer Matt Chittum contributed information to this story.
by CNB