For the week three written assignment, students will write a research paper based on the article from the January 31, 2003, Richmond Times Dispatch, Carrico Ending 42 Years On High Court, Virginia's Chief Justice Retires After 42 Years of Judicial Service. What are some ethical advantages and disadvantages of an appointed vs. an elected judiciary? What are some ethical advantages of having a mandatory judicial retirement age? Also, see the information related to judicial selection and service posted on Blackboard. The actual text of the document must be at least three pages, but no more than four pages, utilizing ALWD/APA documentation format.

LENGTH: 969 words

 

HEADLINE: Retiring chief justice spent 42 years on high court

 

BYLINE: By ALAN COOPER, Richmond Times-Dispatch

 

BODY:

RICHMOND, Va. - Harry L. Carrico was a judge before five of his six colleagues on the Virginia Supreme Court were born. The sixth was barely out of diapers when Carrico became a trial justice in Fairfax County in 1943.

 

When Carrico was named to the high court, the man who will succeed him as chief justice, Leroy R. Hassell Sr., was 5 years old.

 

The number the Virginia State Bar assigns to a newly admitted lawyer increases with the number of lawyers admitted. Last week, it went to 49,010. Carrico's number is 867.

 

As chief justice since 1981, he has presided over the admission of almost two-thirds of the lawyers practicing in the state.

 

Any discussion of the 86-year-old Carrico might understandably start with longevity, but it moves quickly to vitality and accomplishment. His 42 years on the Supreme Court, 22 as chief justice, ended Friday.

 

His work ethic would be "almost mythical in proportion but for the fact that it's true," said Justice Donald W. Lemons, the junior member of the court.

 

Carrico typically rises at 4:15 a.m. for a bike ride of at least six miles around his western Henrico County neighborhood. He's in his office by 6:45 a.m. and often is the last to leave the Supreme Court building in the evening.

 

Until recently, he Rollerbladed on weekends in the commuter parking lot on Gaskins Road, but the county closed it because of concern about lawsuits. "I'm going to go back to it," he said. "We'll find a place."

 

His reputation for vigor has hardly been diminished by his marriage in July 1994 to Lynn Brackenridge, who is more than 40 years younger than he.

 

By all accounts, it is a remarkably happy union, even though Brackenridge is almost as energetic as Carrico in her role as president of Gateway Homes of Greater Richmond Inc. The organization operates residences and a supported living program in Chesterfield County for mentally ill adults.

 

"They truly love each other," Lemons said. "They enjoy each other and they are enjoyable to see together."

 

If he had his way, Carrico makes clear, he would continue on the court. "It's a very interesting job. There's something new every day. I don't want to quit."

 

But a state law that took effect after he began his most recent 12-year term requires judges to retire the January after their 70th birthday. The law allowed judges to complete the terms they were serving, regardless of their age, and Carrico's ended Jan. 31.

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