DATE: Wednesday, March 19, 1997             TAG: 9703190499

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   39 lines

BEACH JUDGE NOMINATED TO FEDERAL BENCH

Judge Jerome B. Friedman of Virginia Beach Circuit Court was nominated Tuesday to become a federal judge.

U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb recommended Friedman to fill a vacant judgeship in U.S. District Court in Norfolk. The job came open late last year when District Judge Robert G. Doumar took ``senior status,'' a form of semi-retirement.

Friedman's nomination now goes to President Clinton, who ultimately will appoint the new judge, subject to Senate confirmation. It is impossible to know how long that will take, but it could be a while, based on recent history.

The confirmation process has been backlogged for about a year, thanks to partisan bickering between the Republican Senate and the Democratic president. As a result, there are 93 vacant federal judgeships nationwide.

Friedman, 53, is chief judge of Virginia Beach Circuit Court. He was named to the court in 1991 by then-Gov. L. Douglas Wilder. Before that, Friedman was a judge in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court for five years.

Born in New Jersey, Friedman moved to Norfolk with his family as a child. He graduated from Granby High School, earned a bachelor's degree in business from Old Dominion University and a law degree from Wake Forest University. He practiced law in Virginia Beach with the firm of Pender & Coward.

Friedman was one of five candidates considered by Robb. The others were: U.S. Magistrate Judges Tommy E. Miller and James E. Bradberry, Circuit Judge Alan E. Rosenblatt of Virginia Beach and Circuit Judge Johnny E. Morrison of Portsmouth.

The last judge named to Norfolk's federal court was Raymond A. Jackson in December 1993. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Jerome B. Friedman KEYWORDS: JUDGESHIPS VIRGINIA BEACH NOMINATIONS

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu