The General Assembly elected Judge F. Patrick Yeatts on Thursday to a Circuit Court judgeship in the Lynchburg area’s 24th Judicial Circuit.
Legislators left it up to Gov. Bob McDonnell to appoint a judge in the Appomattox area’s 10th Judicial Circuit, said Del. Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge.
The House of Delegates voted to elect Kimberley White, Halifax County’s commonwealth’s attorney, to the 10th Circuit. But the Senate did not vote for White.
Earlier this year, legislators interviewed White and Darrel Puckett, commonwealth’s attorney of Appomattox County, for the 10th Circuit post.
The Senate Courts of Justice Committee certified Puckett as qualified for the judgeship on a 6-5-1 vote. The panel did not certify White, leaving her with no chance to gain the assembly’s approval for the judgeship this year.
Yeatts, now a judge in General District Court, fills a vacancy on the 24th Circuit Court bench that was created when Judge Leyburn Mosby retired last year.
Yeatts, 42, was elected by the General Assembly in 2007 to the General District judgeship. He is the presiding judge in Campbell County’s General District Court.
At the time of his election, Yeatts was a partner in the Lynchburg law firm now called Freeman, Dunn, Alexander and Tiller.
He served as in-house counsel for Liberty University in the 1990s and was a legislative aide for state Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, after earning his law degree from Regent University. He graduated from Lynchburg College.
Although Mosby presided mostly in Lynchburg’s courtroom, it is not known if Yeatts will sit in Lynchburg or in Campbell County.
The General Assembly did not choose a new judge to replace Yeatts on the General District Court. No candidates applied to the assembly for Yeatts’ spot on the General District bench.
The Circuit Court judges are expected to appoint someone to fill Yeatts’ district court seat until the General Assembly can interview candidates next year.
Staff writer Chris Dumond contributed to this story.
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