Friday, February 11, 2011

Virginia's First Black Chief Justice, Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr., Dies

Filed under: , ,

Virginia's First Black Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. Dies



Observers of Virgina's high court knew something was wrong with former Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. (pictured).

It was reported that a serious infection kept the Norfolk native and the state's first black chief justice off the bench for most of the past two years.

And when he appeared at the Virginia Bar Association late last month to receive the group's Distinguished Service Award, Hassell looked frail.

Unfortunately, his health continued to decline, and the 55-year-old jurist died on Tuesday.


During his speech at the Virginia Bar Association, Hassell mentioned his health in passing but said he drew strength from the crowd. The judge talked of how his deep faith in God guided his career.

Hassell, a University of Virginia and Harvard Law School graduate, was appointed to Virginia's Supreme Court in 1989 by Gov. Gerald Baliles and was sworn in as chief justice in 2003, a position he held until last year.

Hassell's enduring legacy will be how he provided legal care for the needy. He asked the Virginia Bar Association to help create a plan to encourage lawyers to donate legal services to the poor.

In an editorial in the Virginian-Pilot newspaper last April, Hassell wrote:

"We have to ensure that everyone has access to the courts."

Hassell is survived by a wife and three children.



 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Source: http://www.bvblackspin.com/2011/02/09/virginias-first-black-chief-justice-leroy-rountree-hassell-sr/

Emma Heming Vitamin C Scarlett Johansson Christina Ricci Missi Pyle

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)