THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 16, 1995 TAG: 9503160418
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
School Board member Charles W. Vincent, whose conviction on misdemeanor ethics charges and eviction from the board became final Wednesday, has asked the Circuit Court to delay appointing a successor to fill his seat.
In a motion filed Wednesday, Vincent's attorney, Andrew M. Sacks, asked the judges to wait until Vincent's appeals are exhausted.
Under state law, circuit judges have the power to appoint replacements for elected board members who leave before finishing their terms.
Vincent was elected in May; a replacement appointed by the judges would fill the seat until May 1996, when a special election would be held.
Sacks said he had begun the paperwork necessary to appeal Vincent's conviction. He also plans to file a petition with the state Court of Appeals in Richmond next week, requesting that the court reverse a Virginia Beach judge's decision last month to remove Vincent immediately from the board.
Sacks argued unsuccessfully then that Vincent had a right to remain on the board during appeals. He said Wednesday that it would not be fair to Vincent or to the School Board to appoint a replacement now, in case the appeals succeed.
``. . . Eventually, if his appeals are successful and his conviction is overturned, then he immediately would be entitled to regain his board seat,'' Sacks said. The actions of the person appointed to replace Vincent might be deemed invalid, he said.
That would create confusion for the board, he said.
Commonwealth's Attorney Robert J. Humphreys said, however, that state law is clear: Vincent was required to vacate his board seat immediately upon conviction.
``No court has the authority to grant a stay on the forfeiture of office, because the General Assembly didn't grant the courts that authority,'' he said. ``That's going to be our contention.''
Meanwhile, the School Board is down to nine members from its usual 11. Circuit judges are considering a replacement for former chairman James R. Darden, who stepped down in January because of a family illness. The chief judge still is taking applications for that spot. Judges have offered no date for when they will fill Darden's seat.
Remaining School Board members are anxious for replacements. Last week, they voted to ask the judges to act swiftly to find a successor to fill Vincent's seat. When Darden's spot is filled, the board will have 10 members, which creates an opportunity for deadlocked votes on controversial issues.
Sacks said, however, that he did not believe the board would be handicapped with one less member.
``There's nothing in the law that says that the board has to have 11 members to operate . . . as long as a quorum of the board acts at any given time,'' he said. ``I don't think there's any compelling reason why the seat has to be filled now.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
A successor to Charles W. Vincent would serve until May '96.
by CNB