DATE: Friday, October 10, 1997              TAG: 9710100638

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   77 lines

EDMONDS LOSES BID TO GET BACK ON BALLOT IN STATE HOUSE RACE

Just one month before Election Day, former Judge Luther C. Edmonds lost a last-ditch appeal Thursday to get his name on the ballot for the state House of Delegates.

Wearing a blue campaign button with his name on it, Edmonds asked a federal judge to restore his name to the ballot.

Instead, Judge Henry C. Morgan Jr. threw out Edmonds' civil rights lawsuit against the state and city election boards.

The boards then asked Morgan to fine Edmonds for filing a frivolous lawsuit, but Morgan refused.

After the hearing, Edmonds said he is still a write-in candidate against Del. William P. Robinson Jr. ``I'm going to have to do it the hard way,'' Edmonds said. ``I think the people would like to have a choice in the matter.''

Robinson, an eight-term incumbent, is unopposed on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Edmonds, 55, is a former judge in Norfolk Circuit Court. He resigned last year while under investigation for misconduct. He now has a private law practice in Virginia Beach.

In April, Edmonds announced he would run against Robinson, a former friend and patron who became a critic after Edmonds' misconduct investigation.

At the time, however, Edmonds did not live in Robinson's election district. Edmonds moved into the district in May.

On June 10, Edmonds filed his candidate petitions with the Norfolk registrar. Three hours later, the board declared those petitions invalid, saying Edmonds had moved into the district too late to witness the voter signatures on the petitions.

The election board also said Edmonds got only 105 valid signatures on his petitions. The law requires 125. Edmonds claimed he had 155 valid signatures.

Three days after he was knocked off the ballot, Edmonds sued the election boards in federal court. He claimed racial discrimination and other civil rights violations. He sought $1 million and reinstatement to the ballot.

Last month, Edmonds dropped the money demand and a judge threw out most of the case. On Thursday, Morgan dismissed the rest of the case.

Morgan ruled Thursday that it was ``highly unlikely'' that Edmonds could win at trial. He said Edmonds had produced no evidence that he was treated differently than other candidates.

Morgan became angry when Edmonds argued that the election boards ``fraudulently and illegally manipulated'' the number of valid signatures on his petitions.

``What evidence do you have of fraud?'' Morgan asked.

Edmonds offered to call a witness.

``The court doesn't take an allegation of fraud lightly,'' Morgan replied. ``What's your evidence?''

Edmonds later withdrew the fraud claim.

In a surprise move, Edmonds called Sherry Battle, a former bail bondswoman, to testify on his behalf. Battle was a central figure in the misconduct hearing against Edmonds. The state judicial commission accused Edmonds of improperly hearing cases involving Battle while he had a personal relationship with her. Edmonds denied the allegation, but a misconduct hearing was halted before the commission could hear all the evidence.

On Thursday, Battle testified that she helped Edmonds research the validity of voter signatures on his petitions. She testified that the election boards did not count 50 valid signatures.

But Morgan said his count showed Edmonds had, at best, just 122 valid signatures. The law requires 125. ``None of the ways that you add it up comes to 125 voters,'' Morgan said.

Edmonds now has one last court matter pending: whether he will be slapped with sanctions for filing a frivolous lawsuit against 10 Norfolk judges, the state judicial commission and a court clerk.

In that case, Edmonds claimed the judges, commission and clerk conspired to force him out of office last year. He demanded $40 million in damages and reinstatement to the bench.

A federal judge in Richmond threw out that case last month and said he will consider sanctions against Edmonds. A hearing is not yet scheduled. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Luther C. Edmonds' lawsuit against the state and city election

boards was thrown out by a federal judge Thursday. KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT

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