June 14, 2012: Richmond judges appoint Thorne-Begland to bench

Bob Marshall was, um not happy.

Richmond judges appoint Thorne-Begland to bench

Posted: Friday, June 15, 2012 1:00 am | Updated: 11:31 am, Fri Jan 18, 2013.

Jim Nolan

Richmond Circuit Court judges on Thursday appointed prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland to the General District Court bench, filling a vacancy created when the House of Delegates rejected his nomination last month. ... Thorne-Begland, 45, will be the first openly gay judge in Virginia when his appointment takes effect July 1. He will occupy the bench in the 13th Judicial District in the Manchester courthouse in South Richmond.
....

This week, five of Richmond's most prominent private attorneys, representing politically influential law firms, sent a letter to the Richmond Circuit Court expressing support for Thorne-Begland. And on Wednesday, an internal Republican memo surfaced that rebutted opposition leveled by several Republicans with military backgrounds over Thorne-Begland's military record as a Navy flight officer. ... The memo, written by Del. Richard L. Morris, R-Isle of Wight — a 22-year Navy veteran and military law attorney — argued that Thorne-Begland had not violated military law or his oath in publicly stating his opposition to the military's policy at the time against gays in the armed forces.

Late Wednesday, three Republican delegates with military backgrounds who had opposed Thorne-Begland's appointment issued a joint response to Morris' memo, arguing that it missed the point of their objection.

"The difficulty with this judicial nomination turns on the time-tested issues of trust, sound judgment, and the seriousness of the oath sworn to the nation by every member of the armed forces," said the statement by Dels. Richard L. Anderson, R-Prince William; L. Mark Dudenhefer, R-Stafford; and Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Prince William.