Leaders of Richmond's Largest Law Firms Back Thorne-Begland Judgeship

Having just received a humiliating rebuke - or that's how anyone rational would see it - in his lunatic U.S. Senate nomination bid, Bob Marshall now has the power players in the Richmond legal community pushing the City's Circuit Court judges to do what the General Assembly would not: appoint an openly gay man to the bench.   In the legal world, these are not just local league firms.  No, they are large international law firms with hundreds of attorneys with credentials of the type Marshall could only dream about.  One can only hope that this may be the beginning of large powerful Virginia based law firms and corporations sending a message to the Virginia General Assembly - and the Virginia GOP in particular - that the crazy religious based extremism needs to cease.  It's bad for business and is making Virginia less competitive in the world economy.  Here are highlights from the Washington Post: 

Leaders of Richmond’s five largest law firms are urging the city’s Circuit Court judges to do what the General Assembly would not: appoint an openly gay man to the bench.  The General Assembly in May blocked the appointment of Tracy Thorne-Begland, a veteran Richmond prosecutor, to a relatively low-level District Court judgeship. 

“He’s a bright guy, he’s fair-minded; people that deal with the commonwealth’s attorney’s office think he’s a real leader there,” said former Virginia attorney general Richard Cullen, one of five lawyers who sent a letter to circuit judges Tuesday on Thorne-Begland’s behalf. “I think it’s fair to say we want this to be based on the merits. And based on the merits, Tracy will be an outstanding judge. Nobody disagrees with that.”

The letter was very brief: “We understand that the Court is considering appointing Tracy Thorne-Begland to the District Court for the City of Richmond. We believe he would be an outstanding jurist and support his appointment.”

Along with Cullen, who is chairman of McGuireWoods, it was signed by James V. Meath, chairman of Williams Mullen and a former president of the Virginia Bar Association; Thurston R. Moore, chairman emeritus of Hunton & Williams; John S. West, managing partner of Troutman Sanders’s Richmond office; and Thomas M. Wolf of LeClairRyan, former governor Timothy M. Kaine’s onetime law partner.

Opposition to Thorne-Begland’s appointment was led by the Family Foundation of Virginia and Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William). 

University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias said the letter could help. “Having the pillars of the legal establishment strongly urge the Richmond circuit judges to appoint [Thorne-Begland] because he is highly qualified is valuable,” he said via e-mail. Tobias added that what’s up in the air is whether the General Assembly would appoint Thorne-Begland permanently after having an opportunity to assess him during an interim term.

But Marshall, who ran in Tuesday’s primary for U.S. Senate but was defeated by George Allen, was not swayed.  “This is the Republican establishment that can’t take a message,” he said. “This is unbelievable arrogance. We went through this process, the House of Delegates said ‘no,’ we have the authority to do that. We found him wanting in judicial temperament. If they don’t like the outcome, they should run for delegate.”

Perhaps what these firms need to do is find a good candidate to challenge Marshall in 2013 and bankroll Marshall's opponent and get Marshall out of the General Assembly.  He's an embarrassment to Virginia not to mention common decency.   These forms also need to be more aggressive in sending a message to the larger Virginia GOP that religious extremism needs to end.