Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 27, 1995 TAG: 9501270066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Richmond office ``kept getting calls from the Roanoke County commonwealth's attorney, asking for legal advice,'' Doherty recalled.
The next time the commonwealth's attorney was on the line, Doherty asked why he was such a frequent caller. It turned out that both of the prosecutor's part-time assistants recently had quit.
If you hire me for both positions, Doherty told him, you won't have to keep calling Richmond.
Doherty got the job. Twenty-two years later, after serving as an assistant commonwealth's attorney, defense attorney and substitute judge, the Salem lawyer got a new job Thursday - as a Roanoke Circuit Court judge.
His latest career move was not the result of a spur-of-the-moment encounter like the one in 1973, colleagues say, but rather years of experience in all areas of the law that made Doherty a shoe-in for the judgeship.
``He's an extremely competent attorney, and he stays current with all of the legal decisions,'' said Charlie Phillips, Doherty's law partner for the past 17 years. ``Above all, he's fair and he's honest, and those are going to be the two things that the public will benefit from the most.''
Since leaving the prosecutor's office in 1977, Doherty has run a general law practice in a small firm. His weekly calendar runs the gamut of cases - criminal misdemeanors, felony sentencings, traffic cases, wills, real estate, personal injury lawsuits, divorces.
``We specialize in whatever walks in the door that day,'' Doherty said. Lawyers say the variety will help Doherty sort through the caseload in Circuit Court, which, as the highest of three local court levels, is the venue for cases ranging from misdemeanor appeals to capital murder.
Doherty has handled cases from three perspectives: prosecutor, defense attorney and judge. He has served as a substitute judge in the valley's juvenile and general district courts since 1977.
Although Doherty, 50, has had his share of high-profile trials over the years, he says no particular case sticks in his mind as the most important.
``Everything that happens in my practice is of major importance to the client,'' he said. ``I'm sure every case I've tried has stood out in the individual client's mind as a major case.''
He hopes to maintain that perspective as a judge - devoting all of his attention to the immediate case at hand.
Unlike past judicial appointments in which local bar groups have backed different candidates and politicians have wrangled over the selection, Doherty was the only person to be considered by the General Assembly for the Roanoke judgeship.
After he was interviewed earlier this week by the House and Senate courts of justice committees, Doherty received final approval in floor votes Thursday.
Last month, he received the endorsement of both the Roanoke and the Roanoke County-Salem bar associations, a total of more than 500 lawyers. ``To have that many people in your profession support you is really heartwarming,'' he said.
Although Doherty will replace retiring Judge Kenneth Trabue, who heard most of his cases in Roanoke County, Doherty's office will be located in the city courthouse.
Now that the Roanoke Valley has six Circuit Court judges, four will spend most of their time in the city, with one of the four going to Roanoke County and Salem on a regular basis to help out.
Doherty is scheduled to begin his duties March 1.
by CNB