ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 27, 1996 TAG: 9604290035
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
Jacqueline Talevi, who has devoted her legal career to defending poor people charged with crimes, was endorsed Friday to become the second female judge in the Roanoke Valley.
Talevi, deputy public defender in Roanoke, was nominated by the Roanoke Bar Association to fill a vacancy in General District Court created by the retirement of Judge John Apostolou, who will step down June 1 after 11 years on the bench.
Because the vote came one day after Talevi was endorsed by the Roanoke County-Salem Bar Association, she is considered the leading candidate for the interim judgeship that will be filled next month by the valley's Circuit Court judges.
Although the judges can consider other applicants, lawyers said it would be unusual for them to disregard the unanimous choice of both valley bar associations.
The judgeship will be filled permanently by the General Assembly at its 1997 session.
"I think we all agree she will be an excellent judge, and I'm sure the legislature will feel the same way," said Charles Dorsey, president of the city bar association.
If Talevi is appointed to the judgeship, she would become the second woman among the 15 state judges who currently sit in the Roanoke Valley. Judge Diane Strickland, who was appointed to the General District bench in 1987, currently presides in Circuit Court. The only other woman judge in the Roanoke Valley was appointed to juvenile court in 1944.
Statewide, women fill 16 of 119 judgeships in General District Court, but only one is located west of Richmond.
"I think there does need to be better representation of women on the bench," said Carole Agee, a Roanoke lawyer who is judicial chairwoman of the Virginia Women Attorneys Association. Agee said her group will interview candidates in the coming weeks before making a recommendation to the Circuit Court judges.
Talevi, who could not be reached for comment Friday, has worked for the city public defender's office since she graduated from law school in 1983, serving as assistant public defender, senior assistant public defender and deputy public defender. In that capacity, she appears regularly in General District Court.
A native of Roanoke, Talevi graduated from Virginia Tech in 1976 and worked as a probation officer before receiving her law degree from Washington and Lee University. She is married to Steven Talevi, an assistant city attorney, and has two children, Jennifer and Christopher.
Other lawyers who had sought the city bar's endorsement were Ray Byrd, Philip Coulter, Tom Dickenson, Daniel Frankl, Terry Grimes, Mark Kidd, and John Molumphy. The judgeship is for the 23rd Judicial District, which includes Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem.
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