DATE: Thursday, September 18, 1997          TAG: 9709180370

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   83 lines

EX-JUDGE'S DISCRIMINATION SUIT THROWN OUT OF COURT

A federal judge on Wednesday threw out Luther C. Edmonds' unprecedented lawsuit against eight Norfolk judges and the state judicial commission that investigated him last year for possible misconduct.

That investigation led Edmonds to resign his office as Norfolk Circuit Court judge last September. He was accused of judicial favoritism and of threatening his wife and son with a gun.

In April, Edmonds sued eight of his former colleagues with the court and the state Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission, alleging race discrimination, defamation and various civil rights violations. He sought $50 million in damages and reinstatement as judge.

The lawsuit alleged a broad conspiracy by Norfolk's mostly white judiciary, the mostly white judicial commission, a white court clerk and a black state delegate to force Edmonds, who is black, out of office. Edmonds claimed this was in retaliation for his investigation into alleged race discrimination by the judges against black bail bondsmen.

In reply, the judges said Edmonds' accusations were ``a blatant attempt to cover his own improprieties.'' The commission, in a legal brief, said it had ``ample grounds to question Edmonds' fitness to remain on the bench.''

On Wednesday, in a federal courtroom in Richmond, Judge Robert E. Payne dismissed the lawsuit. He also said he will consider sanctioning Edmonds, probably with a fine, for filing a frivolous lawsuit.

Payne said he will hold a hearing on the sanctions issue soon after writing an opinion on the case.

Payne dismissed Edmonds' lawsuit after a 90-minute hearing.

``The claims simply are without merit,'' Payne said. ``There is no reason this case should go forward. . . . I don't want you all spending any more time with this case.''

Outside the courtroom, an angry Edmonds said he will appeal.

``I think the cards were stacked against me from the very beginning,'' Edmonds said. ``There's no question in my mind they were out to destroy me. .

At the start of the hearing, Edmonds asked Payne to remove himself from the case. ``I feel I cannot get a fair and impartial trial before you,'' Edmonds said. Payne denied the motion.

Only one Norfolk judge came to Richmond for the hearing: Lydia C. Taylor, who was chief judge when Edmonds resigned last year. She did not speak during the hearing and declined to comment after it.

In the hearing, Edmonds asked for permission to amend his lawsuit to include Gov. George F. Allen and the General Assembly as defendants, since only they can appoint judges. Payne denied that motion.

Then attorneys for the defendants asked that the case be dismissed. They argued that the Norfolk judges and the judicial commission are immune, as government employees, from lawsuits for money damages.

Mary Shea, a lawyer representing the judges and commission, called Edmonds' lawsuit ``a sucker punch'' because the judges and commission cannot divulge facts about the confidential investigation of Edmonds. It is forbidden by the state constitution.

Payne, however, said he believed ``the judges are free to say whatever they want to say once they are sued.''

Shea said they would remain silent anyway, to protect the confidentiality of witnesses who cooperated with the investigation.

Edmonds, 55, was under investigation for possible improper handling of cases involving a bail bondswoman with whom he may have had a relationship, and for allegedly threatening his wife and son with a gun.

The state Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission never reached a conclusion on the charges because Edmonds resigned in the middle of the commission's closed-door hearing, before all the evidence was heard. Edmonds is now practicing law in Virginia Beach.

In July, the Norfolk judges and the judicial commission asked that Edmonds be sanctioned for filing a frivolous lawsuit. They said Edmonds sued to harass and embarrass them in public.

In an unrelated matter, Edmonds has a separate lawsuit pending in federal court.

In that case, Edmonds seeks to restore his name to the Nov. 4 election ballot. Edmonds is running for the state House of Delegates as a write-in candidate against Del. William P. Robinson Jr.

Edmonds filed to become a candidate June 10, but the election board ruled his petition invalid. Edmonds is challenging that decision in court. A hearing is expected sometime before Election Day. ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

A federal judge found no merit in Luther Edmonds' charges of

mistreatment through a broad conspiracy. KEYWORDS: DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT

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