ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 9, 1997 TAG: 9701100022
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
The Giles County Bar Association diverged from the New River Valley's largest lawyers' group Wednesday and endorsed Blacksburg lawyer Harriet Dorsey to replace retiring Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Patrick Graybeal.
Graybeal, who hears cases mostly in Montgomery and Giles counties, will leave April 30 after more than six years on the bench in the 27th Judicial District.
The bar association endorsements are the first steps before the judicial appointment moves on to the General Assembly for consideration in the session that opened Wednesday.
The Montgomery-Floyd-Radford Bar Association met Tuesday night and put its political weight behind Bob Viar Jr., a Christiansburg lawyer. That association has 93 members, 82 of whom showed up for the vote.
The nine-member Giles County Bar Association met Wednesday morning, after some members took time to travel to Christiansburg on Tuesday and listen to speeches made by the five candidates before the Montgomery barristers.
Graham Parks, president of the Grayson County-Galax Bar Association, said its 12-member group also met Wednesday morning and endorsed Viar.
The Wythe-Bland County Bar Association plans to meet Jan. 21 to vote, according to Lee Chitwood, the organization's treasurer.
Mike Fleenor, president of the Pulaski County Bar Association, said his 30-plus member group has not yet set a date to meet.
Former President Joe McGrady said the Carroll County Bar Association also has yet to set a meeting date for its 15-member group.
The remaining judgeship candidates, Peggy Frank, a Montgomery County assistant commonwealth's attorney; Gail DeVilbiss, a Radford lawyer; and Victoria Robison, Pulaski County public defender; have not received any endorsements.
Viar, 43, has practiced law in Montgomery County since 1978 and currently has his own practice in Christiansburg. He is a 1975 graduate of Virginia Tech, where he majored in political science; and a 1978 graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Law.
From 1983 to 1991, Viar served as assistant commonwealth's attorney for Montgomery County. He has been a substitute judge in Graybeal's court since October 1994 and is the past president of the Legal Aid Society of the New River Valley.
Dorsey, 49, has served as a substitute judge in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court since 1988. She is a 1969 graduate of Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, where she majored in English and a 1976 graduate of the Washington and Lee University School of Law.
Dorsey began her private practice in Blacksburg in 1976, the emphasis of which is family and juvenile, and the legal issues surrounding the development of low-income housing.
Dorsey has written for the legal journal, Law Review, and was a state administrative hearing officer for the Virginia Supreme Court from 1978 to 1988.
Dorsey said this is the only judgeship she has ever sought and the only one she ever will.
"I feel I can make the biggest contribution to the community" in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, she said.
When asked about potential changes she would make to the court if she won the General Assembly's backing, Dorsey said she believes strongly in participation by local bar members and would seek their input before making any changes.
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