ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, May 17, 1996                   TAG: 9605170082
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: B-1  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER

PUBLIC DEFENDER PICKED TO SIT BEHIND BENCH

JACQUELINE TALEVI says she will try to bring a personal touch to every case she considers.

Jacqueline Talevi, who has appeared in Roanoke General District Court nearly every day of her 13 years as a public defender, was appointed Thursday to preside over it.

A panel of Circuit Court judges selected Talevi, deputy public defender in Roanoke, to take the place of General District Court Judge John Apostolou when he retires June 1. Talevi will become the Roanoke Valley's second sitting female judge.

Lawyers praised Talevi's fairness and the calm competence she displays in and out of the courtroom.

Talevi will bring "a lot of common sense" to the judgeship, Chief Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Betty Jo Anthony said. "And that is what is so desperately needed in General District Court to bring the law to bear on everyday situations."

Talevi's experience is as diverse as the court's caseload.

"I think I have the day-to-day experience in the criminal arena in dealing with all kinds of cases and all kinds of people, ranging from suspended operator's license charges to people charged with first-degree murder," she said.

General District Court handles traffic charges and other misdemeanors, small civil claims and preliminary hearings in felony cases.

Because so many people appear in the court, public perceptions of the judicial system often are based on experiences during their first - and often only - time there.

With that in mind, Talevi said, she will try to bring a personal touch to each case she hears.

When the General Assembly meets next year, it will decide whether to appoint Talevi to a full six-year term. Although judicial selection took some partisan turns during the last session, one legislator predicted Talevi's appointment will encounter no opposition.

"I think her chances are excellent," said Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, who attended law school with Talevi. "Not only is she a top-notch candidate, I think she has broad-based support in both political parties."

Talevi's support among her colleagues has already become evident. She quickly emerged from a pack of nearly a dozen candidates for the judgeship, receiving endorsements from the Roanoke and Roanoke County-Salem bar associations, as well as the Virginia Women Attorneys Association.

She will become the second woman among the 15 state judges who sit in the Roanoke Valley. Judge Diane Strickland, appointed to the General District bench in 1987, now presides in Circuit Court. The only other woman judge in the Roanoke Valley was appointed to juvenile court in 1944.

Statewide, woman fill 16 of 119 judgeships in General District Court, but only one is west of Richmond.

Talevi has worked for the city public defender's office since she graduated from Washington and Lee University law school in 1983, serving as assistant public defender, senior assistant public defender and deputy public defender.

A native of Roanoke, she graduated from Virginia Tech in 1976 and worked as a probation officer before receiving her law degree.

LENGTH: Medium:   71 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CINDY PINKSTON Staff    Jacqueline Talevi is endorsed for
          General District Court by Roanoke and Roanoke County-Salem bar 
          associations.