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Judge Samuel T. Powell, III on to Retirement
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November 21st, 2011
Williamsburg, Virginia: Not many people can say that in the middle of a surgical procedure, they found that it was time to retire, but Judge Samuel T. Powell, III can say he did.
After some worsening medical problems, Judge Powell, III realized that at 66 years old there was still things he wanted to do in his life before it came to the time that he could no longer do them. “There are things I want to do. I want to play golf. I want to travel,” said Judge Powell, III.[1]
After being a judge for the past quarter century, he announced to the Williamsburg Bar Association that he will be retiring effective January 31, 2012.[1]
Judge Samuel T. Powell, III has been a judge since 1986, starting out as a Juvenile and Domestic judge in Williamsburg, and then joining the circuit court in 1993. He had been appointed in 2009 to a third and final eight-year term, being that the mandatory retirement age is 70 years old.[1]
Many praises about Judge Powell, III have been said and he will be missed for his wisdom and fairness. “He’s one of the more creative judges around. Sometimes that was frustrating for me, sometimes for the defense attorneys. I guess if someone wasn’t frustrated then the judge wasn’t doing his job,” said Commonwealth Attorney Nate Green.[1]
Judge Powell, III estimates that he has tried around 30,000-40,000 cases and that he is ready to leave some parts of his job behind, this including nails in his driveway, shots taken at his house, multiple death threats, as well as certain things seen in the courtroom. Prosecutors had once shown a video of child pornography as evidence in a case and Powell called it “the most disgusting thing I have ever seen.”[1]
“I consider myself pretty hardened after 25 years, but I couldn’t look at it. I don’t need to see that any more,” Judge Powell, III said.[1]
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