ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, April 19, 1996                 TAG: 9604190054
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER

LOOK OUT, TROUT; HERE COMES JUDGE APOSTOLOU

AFTER SERVING AS a General District Court judge for more than a decade, Judge John L. Apostolou is set to retire.

Citing his age and a desire to spend more time trout fishing, Roanoke County General District Judge John L. Apostolou said he will retire in June.

"I've been agonizing for some few months," Apostolou, 65, said Thursday.

"The prospect of not being involved makes it a tough decision," he said. "I decided to retire in the summer months rather than in the winter doldrums. And I plan to make speckled trout an endangered species all by myself."

But he will not give up the post altogether.

Apostolou will continue to work as a senior retired judge, sitting on the bench when needed.

He has been a General District Court judge in the 23rd Judicial District, which encompasses Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem, for nearly 11 years. He has been a substitute and acting judge in the district for more than a quarter-century.

Apostolou did not stray far from his hometown of Salem, returning after a stint with the U.S. Army and law school. During the 1960s he spent time as an assistant commonwealth's attorney in Roanoke and was appointed acting judge of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court twice during that decade.

He also was substitute General District Court judge before taking the position full time in May 1985.

During his career, he earned the title of "law-and-order judge," a reference he welcomes.

"If we ... do nothing, we become enablers, just like their parents," he said. "No one is behind us. We do them a disservice if we do nothing. A long sentence is not necessary, but some sentence is."

The circuit judges of the 23rd Judicial District will designate an interim judge until the General Assembly can make an appointment in 1997. The Roanoke and Roanoke County-Salem Bar Associations are expected to meet to endorse candidates by the end of the month. Lawyers who have expressed an interest in the position include Thomas Dickenson, Daniel Frankl, John Molomphy and Barry Tatel.

LENGTH: Short :   49 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:   STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS/Staff Judge John L. Apostolou is 
          retiring and plans to  "make speckled trout an endangered species 
          all by myself."