Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 26, 1993 TAG: 9403080003
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAMES W. UPDIKE JR.
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Bill Dolan, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, is a former president of the Virginia State Bar and an accomplished civil and criminal litigator from Arlington County with more than 20 years' experience. He was asked by the Norfolk Circuit Court to represent the state and prosecute Judge Campbell.
As prosecutors from around Virginia, we have read and listened to Gilmore's political attacks regarding this case, and we believe the time has come to set the record straight regarding several areas of this prosecution.
In 1988, Judge Campbell was charged with forgery and malfeasance. The then-commonwealth's attorney recused himself from the case. Nine judges of the Norfolk Circuit Court, knowing that they had a very difficult case, called on Dolan to prosecute.
Dolan was appointed because of the Circuit Court's confidence in his legal skills and professional integrity. In an interview with Judge John E. Clarkson, then-Chief Judge of the Norfolk Circuit Court, published in The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot on March 5, Clarkson told the reporter that ``he had sought out Dolan because of his reputation in the legal community.''
Dolan did not seek the job; the judges sought him.
We believe the judges made an excellent decision in selecting Dolan and that his prosecution of Campbell provides clear-cut evidence of his skill as a trial lawyer. His achievement in indicting, trying and convicting a sitting judge was unprecedented in Virginia's legal history. He was successful because Dolan conducted the prosecution with his characteristic energy, attention to detail and forceful determination.
As a result, this judge no longer sits on the bench in the city of Norfolk. Indeed, he will never sit as a judge again because of Dolan's aggressive prosecution.
Dolan proved, for the first time in Virginia's long history, that the judicial system can prosecute and convict one of its own. This is an accomplishment of which we, as prosecutors and officers of the court, are proud.
In the end, 12 citizens of the city of Norfolk recommended that Judge Campbell be imprisoned for four years. Campbell's battery of lawyers (led by a former attorney general) appealed the conviction several times. The Court of Appeals initially affirmed the judge's conviction.
Campbell pursued further appeals. In August 1992, the Court of Appeals reversed the convictions and, by a 5-4 vote despite a blistering dissent by Chief Judge Norman Moon, sent the case back to the trial court for a new trial. Campbell appealed even further, to the Virginia Supreme Court, arguing that he should be completely acquitted. The Supreme Court refused that appeal earlier this summer and allowed the order of a new trial to stand.
This case was one of the longest and most complicated in Virginia criminal appellate history. Dolan's aggressive use of felony forgery statutes that date back to the Revolution to convict a sitting judge raised tough legal questions. But, in the end, Dolan's reading of the law of forgery was upheld by every appellate judge who reviewed the case.
In fact, the only reason the case was returned for a new trial was that a jury instruction, similar to ones used regularly in federal court for cases involving altering of records, was determined by the Court of Appeals to have possibly been misunderstood by the jury.
Dolan has said repeatedly that he remains the special prosecutor in this case and that he will continue to handle the case personally after Election Day. He did the job once, and he'll do it again.
His opponent's attempt to make a political football out of this path-breaking prosecution is self-serving hype of the worst sort. To call this ``a simple forgery case,'' as Gilmore repeatedly has, is an insult to the intelligence of the 16 appellate judges and justices who struggled with this complex case for 2 1/2 years.
Gilmore attempts to make an issue out of the amount that Dolan charges for his legal services by asserting that Dolan ``billed the commonwealth'' an exorbitant amount of money. This statement is patently erroneous. The truth needs to be told.
At the time of his appointment, Dolan was told by Judge Clarkson that he should bill as he normally would in a court case. ``I told him to keep track of his time and bill at the usual rate,'' said Clarkson (The Virginian-Pilot, March 5).
Dolan led a team of six lawyers for more than three years in their pursuit of Judge Campbell's convictions. As instructed by the appointing judge, Dolan's law firm submitted a bill for the work, which totaled more than $300,000, based on the firm's standard hourly rate.
Following its standard policy, applied to every special prosecution, the State Compensation Board agreed to pay the firm the state rate of $50 per hour. Dolan's firm accepted, and the firm was paid $98,000 for three years' work.
Submitting a bill to the commonwealth for a special prosecution is an established procedure. Gilmore knows this, but he refuses to mention it in his diatribes against Dolan concerning this case.
Dolan is a Democrat and was selected to prosecute Campbell - also a Democrat. Campbell was the former Democratic commonwealth's attorney from Norfolk. Assertions that Dolan was ``given this case as a favor'' are senseless. The Norfolk Circuit Court judges selected a Democrat to investigate, indict and convict a Democrat.
Dolan took on a public official - a member of his own party - who abused his public office. He convicted a sitting judge and vigorously defended those convictions on appeal.
The contrast between Dolan and his opponent is stark with regard to the prosecution of public officials.
Gilmore also had the opportunity to investigate and prosecute a public official of his own party who was alleged to have violated the law. Gilmore, however, failed to take on a public official who was a member of his own party.
Henrico County Sheriff Donald L. Boswell, Gilmore's running mate in 1991, was accused by his own deputies of pressuring them to attend nominating conventions and vote for him, and of using funds to pay these officers for doing so. This shocking allegation of abuse of public office was discussed extensively in the news media, and citizens clamored for Gilmore to do his job and investigate this alleged wrongdoing. Gilmore did no such thing.
We would invite the public to scrutinize the prosecution of public officials from both sides. What they will find is that Gilmore was silent when he was called upon to prosecute a member of his own party and Dolan stood up to members of his own party to uphold the law.
One thing is clear. We know from the record that when someone breaks the law in Virginia, whether a judge, a political ally or a large corporation, Dolan will not hesitate to enforce the law. Will Gilmore be willing to do the same?
Dolan was selected for a tough job because of his prominence and reputation in Virginia's legal community. He handled a complex and difficult case with skill, achieving unprecedented results.
He stands ready to do so again as Virginia attorney general.
\ James W. Updike Jr. is commonwealth's attorney for Bedford County. This letter was signed by four other commonwealth's attorneys from around Virginia.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB