Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 27, 1992 TAG: 9203270277
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: VICTORIA RATCLIFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
But the two never hit it off - possibly because Bondurant went on every date with them.
Since that time, the intern has moved back to Roanoke to become Bondurant's wife - something the federal prosecutor says he knew was going to happen all along.
What he didn't know was that his wife, Roberta "Bert" Bondurant, would become a criminal defense attorney making impassioned pleas in Roanoke courtrooms for the very types of people he asks federal judges to imprison for years.
Rather than causing a problem, however, their different roles in the criminal justice system add dimension to their lives and aren't an issue very often, the Bondurants say.
"Really, we're both in the same business," Tom says. "Maybe it makes it easier for us to get along with both of us being in the business of criminal justice than it is for people with disparate occupations."
The couple often discusses cases at home if there is no chance of a conflict of interest.
"We talk about cases we both do," Bert says. "It's good to talk to him because he has good perspective. He plays a good devil's advocate. . . . He picks up points from the prosecutor's view that I haven't seen."
Do they ever get angry, defending their own positions?
"We've argued, but we don't argue that fiercely," she says. "When we get to the point where you can tell one or the other is starting to get personally offended, we back off. We feel like it's not worth it. The marriage is primary."
"Respect" is a word both Bondurants use frequently when talking about their relationship.
"Bert's really dedicated, especially in the public defender's job," Tom says.
"A lot of people give lip service to poor people deserving as good legal representation as the rich man. Bert's one of the people who puts it to practice. I do respect the hell out of her for doing that."
Says Bert: "As a lawyer, I respect Tom. He is a masterful, masterful trial lawyer. He has a real practical mind and good judgment. He has such a good ability not to get emotionally involved in cases. He has the ability to be objective. His experience and his personality lend himself to being more practical than I am."
\ Different strokes
While Tom has a reputation as a vigorous, relentless, aggressive prosecutor, Bert is known to have a more emotional style.
"Tom loves the battle, he loves the process as much as he does the outcome of a trial," says Karen Peters, chief criminal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office.
"He loves the theater of the courtroom - the noise, the clashing of swords. But it's always done with a sense of jousting. He's always friends with the attorney on the opposing side when the case is over.
"I don't think Bert feels the same way. She takes it home with her. She can't leave it at the door like Tom can."
"People do accuse me of getting overly-emotionally involved in my cases," says Bert, who occasionally becomes choked up during closing arguments.
"You've got to be yourself. The problem I have with not becoming involved is that these days, we've stopped behaving like human beings in our profession. If you're not devoting your human-ness to your profession, then you're not doing your best job. There's a difference in becoming emotionally involved with your clients and giving passioned argument on their behalf."
Public defenders face the disheartening prospect of losing most of their cases. But, Bert says, "I feel like I've gotten a lot of personal satisfaction out of doing this. My personality lends itself to having sympathy for the underprivileged."
Bert, who is on the Roanoke Poverty Task Force, has been known to argue that her clients find themselves in that position because of their socioeconomic status and lifestyle.
"My clients are indigent. They're poor and working poor. They have a lack of education and a lack of income. They have a relative lack of bargaining power. They need for those arguments to be made. In the big picture, they bear on how the client got there in the first place. Judges and juries need to consider that. It's mitigating evidence."
\ Flip sides of the same coin
While people may think she and Tom are far apart on issues, Bert says they often agree. "Prosecuting is just the flip side of the coin," she says. "Because they live in high-crime areas, my clients will end up being victims the day after I defend them. Tom does have a sympathy for the less fortunate."
Although Bert's cases are heard in the state courts and Tom's are federal cases, occasionally the two must refrain from discussing business.
When local, state and federal authorities were involved in the "Caribbean Sunset" cocaine sweep in Roanoke several years ago, Bert and Tom found themselves on opposite poles.
"A couple of times in Caribbean Sunset, we realized there were matters involving defendants we shouldn't be talking about, and we didn't," she says. "We were true to that. People have to be aware of our relationship, and if we were ever questioned, we would have to tell the truth about an ethical issue. So we don't cross it."
Once, a conflict arose that they weren't aware of.
In the early 1980s, Tom prosecuted a man on drug and gun charges. The man, Tyrone Hiawatha Lee, later unsuccessfully sued him for $777,777.77.
Years later, Bert was telling her husband about a "colorful character" who had represented himself on a malicious wounding charge, and who Bert now was representing on appeal. It turned out to be Lee. Although Lee initially said the relationship didn't bother him, Bert eventually asked to withdraw from the appeal.
\ Family life
The Bondurants' life will change somewhat at the end of April, when Bert leaves her job at the Public Defender's Office to spend more time with their 13-month-old daughter, Kate. She plans to look for a part-time job that will allow her to continue doing the work she loves as well.
"With two parents as trial lawyers, it places too many demands on the family," Bert says. "I didn't want Kate to be the loser. I'd like to get off the merry-go-round and spend a little time with her. . . . Having a child helps you put everything in perspective. It definitely mellowed me a little bit."
Their relationship also has mellowed both Bondurants.
The two started dating after turbulent periods in both of their lives.
Bert's mother died when she was 15 and for several years afterward she struggled to help her father raise her 4-year-old sister. She put herself through college and law school and was working 15-hour days in a Richmond law firm when she and Tom began seeing each other.
Tom had just ended a 10-year marriage that had left him emotionally drained.
"Neither of us had any more fight left in us," Bert says.
Because Tom was assigned in Norfolk at the time, the two spent long romantic weekends at Ocracoke Island on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Those weekends sealed their relationship, Tom says.
The two decided to marry, and Bert moved to Roanoke and took the job at the Public Defender's office.
Their friends marvel at how well they get along.
"Tom and Bert are everybody's valentine," Peters says.
"They are a contrast in personalities. Tom is bigger than life. He talks more, he laughs more, he reads more and he sleeps less than anyone you know. He's entirely a one-of-a-kind person," she says.
"Bert, on the other hand, is reserved and ladylike. She has that cool New Englander in her personality. She's good for Tom because she gives him a platform and an anchor - someplace he can be solidly placed and be who he is and as flamboyant as he wants to be without falling off. Bert gives him a lot of space and lets him do his thing. He returns it by being a devoted husband and father."
And they aren't necessarily what they appear to be, Peters says. Tom is physically large with a full beard and a loud laugh. Bert is petite, quiet and has been described as an "earth-mother."
But, Peters says, "Tom is somewhat vulnerable, sentimental, idealistic. Bert is a sweet, charming person, but she's tough as nails - a bedrock New Englander. She has a good idea about what is important and doesn't sweat the other stuff."
Tom's reckless spirit has forced Bert to try new adventures - like deep-sea wreck diving. "I go 90 feet underwater because that's where he is," she says.
Peters' and Tom's friend from college days, Kelly Dudley, laugh about a trip their group of friends took to the beach early one spring. "We wouldn't even get out of the truck, it was so cold," Dudley says. "But Tom had to go dive in."
Peters continues the story: "And there was little, skinny Bert - in her blue bathing suit, and her blue lips and her blue body - jumping in right behind him. Bert is literally a sport."
Just as Tom has motivated Bert in some ways, she has taught him to survive and provided him with stability. The two are thoroughly dedicated to each other, their friends say.
"Tom has a big ego. It goes with his big personality, and he needs a constant fan," Peters says. "Bert's a constant fan - a relentless fan.
"But Tom's a big fan of Bert, too."
Keywords:
PROFILE
by CNB