THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 12, 1996 TAG: 9609120338
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 111 lines
Judge Luther C. Edmonds has resigned from Norfolk Circuit Court after facing disciplinary charges in front of the state's judicial review commission.
Edmonds submitted his resignation late Tuesday, after the state Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission abruptly halted its hearing against him.
Edmonds' resignation and his letter were made public Wednesday.
The commission was looking into charges that Edmonds mishandled cases involving a former bail bondswoman, Sherry Battle, who is suing the other Circuit Court judges for racial discrimination.
The commission hearing the complaint against Edmonds began Tuesday morning behind closed doors, as required by state law, but unexpectedly stopped just after lunch. Only two witnesses had testified: Portsmouth Judge Johnny Morrison and Thomas Baldwin, clerk of Norfolk's General District Court. A dozen other witnesses were waiting to testify.
Edmonds apparently resigned rather than face a full commission hearing and the possibility of being ousted. That means he can still retire formally in a few years and collect a state pension.
By resigning, Edmonds also avoided the possibility that the complaint against him and the witnesses' testimony could becomepublic. All hearings before the commission are confidential. Complaints and testimony remain secret until the commission files a formal complaint against a judge with the state Supreme Court.
Now that Edmonds has resigned, the case against him is closed and the file will remain secret. The commission staff cannot comment on the case because it is confidential.
Edmonds could not be reached for comment Wednesday. He did not return calls to his home. His attorneys - John D. Padgett of Norfolk and Henry L. Marsh III of Richmond - also did not return calls.
Edmonds' letter of resignation offered no explanation for his actions. It said simply: ``I hereby resign effective this date as a judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit.'' It was accepted Wednesday by Chief Justice Harry L. Carrico of the Virginia Supreme Court.
At Norfolk Circuit Court, Chief Judge Lydia C. Taylor called an emergency meeting Wednesday morning to officially tell the other judges of Edmonds' resignation. Rumor had already spread throughout the courthouse. Taylor and the court's other judges agreed not to comment.
Edmonds, 53, has been a judge since 1988, starting in General District Court. He was promoted to Circuit Court last year. He took a two-month leave of absence in July to concentrate on defending himself and has not been back to court since.
The complaint against Edmonds is confidential, as is the identity of whoever filed it. But sources in Norfolk's legal community say the complaint centers on Edmonds' involvement with Battle.
Battle is a former model who runs the New York Modeling Agency in West Ghent. She became a bail bondswoman in 1992, but the Norfolk court suspended her license in 1994 for insufficient collateral.
Battle is suing 10 current or former judges and three other officials of Norfolk Circuit Court over the suspension. Battle, who is black, accuses the judges and court officials of racial discrimination. Her lawsuit is pending in federal court.
Sources say the complaint against Edmonds accused him of helping Battle in her lawsuit against the other judges. It also questioned Edmonds' handling of cases involving Battle, sources say.
It is not known who complained about Edmonds, but he has made enemies inside the courthouse this year by pushing for a crackdown against bail bondsmen other than Battle.
In April, Edmonds asked the state Supreme Court for an independent review of Norfolk's bondsmen, saying Norfolk's judges had not moved quickly enough against violations. In a letter to the Supreme Court, Edmonds described a meeting of Norfolk judges in which he told the others, ``I would not be involved in any cover-up of violations of the (bondsmen) law and urged them to act now.''
One judge at that meeting apparently took offense at Edmonds' remarks because, Edmonds wrote, ``My character and integrity were attacked by one of the judges. Upon conclusion of the judges' unkind and painful remarks, I departed from the meeting.''
It is not known if that April meeting or Edmonds' letter to the Supreme Court triggered the complaint against him, but it apparently came at about the same time.
Now speculation turns to Edmonds' successor.
Under state law, the governor will name a temporary replacement. The new judge will serve until early next year, when the General Assembly will pick a permanent replacement.
A spokesman said Gov. George F. Allen is aware of Edmonds' resignation and will make an interim appointment, but did not know how long that will take.
Since Allen is Republican, the new judge could be the first Republican to sit in Norfolk Circuit Court in recent memory. Norfolk's delegation to Richmond is dominated by Democrats and has chosen all the judges until now.
Allen's spokesman, Ken Stroupe, said the governor will accept applications and recommendations from the community.
Edmonds is the second local judge to resign under pressure in recent years.
In 1993, Chesapeake Judge Stephen L. Comfort resigned from General District Court after a complaint to the judicial review commission that he improperly intervened with another judge in a friend's legal dispute.
The full commission never convened in that case, but the commission's chief counsel did meet with Comfort in Chesapeake and recommended that he resign. He did the next day.
It is rare for the commission to send charges against a judge to the Supreme Court for official action. That has happened only six times in 25 years. Instead, judges often quietly resign, accept private reprimands or seek treatment or other help after complaints. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Luther C. Edmonds apparently resigned rather than face a full
commission hearing and the possibility of being ousted.
What's next:
Under state law, the governor will name a temporary replacement.
The new judge will serve until early next year, when the General
Assembly will pick a permanent replacement. by CNB