Beach Judge Who Set ‘Gold Standard’ Retires After 19 Years on Bench
By Duane Bourne, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.
Mar. 31–VIRGINIA BEACH — In 1989, Thomas Shadrick considered joining the ninth-busiest Circuit Court docket in the state not only as a responsibility, but also a chance at a new career.
He had been an agent and legal instructor for the FBI, an assistant commonwealth’s attorney and a substitute judge in general district court, and had a hectic civil practice.
So it seems fitting that Shadrick, who is retiring after 19 years on the Circuit Court bench, is looking forward to another opportunity. He’ll help resolve disputes through mediation and arbitration for The McCammon Group, which consists of retired judges from Virginia, Maryland and Washington.
“I always thought I would stay on the bench until I was 70,” he said. “We all think we are going to live forever, but we are not guaranteed tomorrow. Now, I have a chance to do something new.”
Shadrick, who made $155,033 as a judge last year, still intends to preside over cases in the city and other circuits throughout the state, and perhaps the Court of Appeals. He’s already been called by officials in Williamsburg to see whether he’s free to substitute.
Who will replace him is undetermined. Rancor between two senior legislators in the General Assembly suggests that a successor won’t be named soon.
Until then, the eight remaining judges will carry a heavier workload, splitting an average of 30 additional cases each day. They will meet today to pick a jurist to replace Shadrick as chief judge. The chief assigns cases, ensures consistency in policies and procedures, and keeps plenty of appointments.
“When I walk around, people are very nice to me,” Shadrick said of the chief judge position he’s held since 1997. “When I come back after I retire, they’ll say, ‘Who’s that?’ ” Hardly.
“He really lightens up the place from day to day,” said Norma Catoe, who has been Shadrick’s paralegal for the last 10 years. “He obviously has a great sense of humor. He is down to earth and unassuming. He will definitely be missed.”
Perhaps what Shadrick will miss most is the camaraderie among the judges. He recalled day one when Circuit Judge Edward Hanson Jr. cast aside the traditional rules of seniority and allowed the new judge to use his courtroom as the city dealt with a space crunch and a boom in court activity.
Hanson held court in a double-wide. Shadrick called the gesture magnanimous.
During his tenure, Shadrick witnessed the building of a new courthouse, the appointment of a ninth circuit judge, and increases in the criminal and civil dockets, which are now among the heaviest in the state.
He developed a reputation for fairness and compassion, although he admitted that it was not easy knowing that he could send a person to prison for life. Whatever his decisions, Shadrick said he never second-guessed himself.
He chided felons and sometimes attorneys. He received death threats. He inspired.
“Judge Shadrick… is about 90 percent of the reason I became a lawyer,” Paul Bohnet said.
In 1992, Shadrick sentenced the man who shot Bohnet, then a high school dropout, eight times over a girl. Shadrick, he said, called the man a coward who ruined everyone’s life.
“I thought he said what should have been said and did what should have been done,” Bohnet said. “We don’t get that too often in our lives.”
Bohnet was so impressed by how his case was handled that he obtained his general equivalency diploma, finished college and studied law. He asked Shadrick to swear him in last year.
“That meant a lot to me,” Bohnet said.
Shadrick also has a knack for making a point. In 2000, he ordered a man who violated his probation for repeatedly pretending to be a law enforcement officer to wear a sandwich board while marching back and forth in front of the probation and parole office. The sign read: “Warning: Do not violate your suspended sentence or probation or you may end up doing this.”
Shadrick often used breaks to tell students visiting on the docent program about the realities of the criminal justice system, in the hopes that there would be at least one fewer “wasted life.”
One recent morning, he stepped down from the bench and told a story about how, as a teen in Ohio, he “borrowed” a car and tried to get it airborne on a country road at 100 mph. He said he survived the experience and cautioned teens about the decisions they make.
Outside the courthouse, Shadrick has helped children improve their grades through mentoring programs. He said he will continue to stay involved in the community.
“I like the fact that I am retiring when I thoroughly like the job,” Shadrick said. “I still enjoy every aspect of it. Not very many people can say that.”
And not many people have been recognized by their peers in a resolution as being the “gold standard” for what a judge should be.
In the days leading up to his retirement, lawyer after lawyer approached the bench and told Shadrick how much they will miss him. It was bittersweet.
His last day was Friday, his 62nd birthday. Someone told Shadrick that the prosecutors were running late. Soon, several people who worked with him, including his clerk, donned orange jail jumpsuits and walked into his courtroom for “pro se bond hearings.”
They all sang “Happy Birthday.”
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Copyright (c) 2008, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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