Tracy Thorne-Begland

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Tracy Thorne-Begland

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Virginia 13th Judicial District

Tenure

Present officeholder

Report an officeholder change

Education

Bachelor's

Vanderbilt University

Law

University of Richmond, 1997

## Contents

* 1 Education
* 2 Noteworthy events
* 2.1 Controversy over appointment
* 3 Career
* 4 See also
* 5 External links
* 6 Footnotes

Tracy Thorne-Begland is a district court judge for the 13th Judicial District in Virginia.[1] He was appointed in June 2012 by the judges of the 13th Judicial Circuit, after the Virginia House of Delegates rejected his nomination in May. The appointment was initially temporary, lasting until the Virginia General Assembly reconvened in January 2013, but was made permanent when he was confirmed on January 15th.[2][3][4][5]

## Education[edit]

Thorne-Beglend received his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and his J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law in 1997.[6]

## Noteworthy events[edit]

### Controversy over appointment[edit]

Conservative members of the Virginia General Assembly opposed the nomination of Thorne-Begland in 2012 because he was openly gay. One member of the legislature, Del. Bob Marshall, clearly stated that Thorne-Begland's sexual orientation was the issue, saying: "We do not recognize these other relationships at all, and they are outside our normative judgement criteria."[7]

The initial vote in Virginia's Republican-controlled House of Delegates on May 15, 2012, was 33-31 and 10 abstentions.[8] Election required 51 votes.[9] To learn more about this, read: Gay prosecutor rejected for Virginia judgeship.

Thorne-Begland's appointment was subsequently supported by several prominent Richmond lawyers including Commonwealth Attorney Mark Herring.[9] He said during a news conference,

“  | It is hard to think about what happened at the General Assembly and not conclude that it is a form of bigotry. Anytime my elected officials exercise in behavior that is bigoted, it embarrasses me.[10][11] | ”

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The final vote for approval on January 15, 2013, was as follows:

* House of Delegates (approval): 66-28 with one abstention
* Senate (approval) 28-0 with the abstention of twelve social conservatives.[4]

## Career[edit]

Before he joined the court, Thorne-Beglend served as the chief deputy commonwealth's attorney for the City of Richmond.[6]

## See also[edit]

* City of Richmond, Virginia
* Courts in Virginia
* Judicial selection in Virginia

## External links[edit]

* Virginia's Judicial System: District Court Overview
* Virginia's Judicial System, "Circuit/District Map"
* Virginia's Judicial System, "Individual General District Court Homepages"
* Richmond Times-Dispatch, "UPDATE: Thorne-Begland 'humbled' by appointment as judge," June 14, 2012 (dead link)

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Virginia's Judicial System, "District Court Directory," accessed June 22, 2015
2. ↑ Virginia House of Delegates
3. ↑ The Washington Post, "Richmond Circuit Court appoints openly gay judge," June 14, 2012
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Times Dispatch, "Legislature elects 1st openly gay judge to Richmond court," January 15, 2013
5. ↑ WVVA, "Va. House confirms state's first openly gay judge," January 15, 2013
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 RVA News.com, "An open and honest life," August 18, 2011
7. ↑ The Washington Post, "Virginia General Assembly rejects openly gay prosecutor for Richmond judgeship," May 15, 2012
8. ↑ New York Times, "Gay Prosecutor Is Denied Virginia Judgeship Despite Bipartisan Support," May 15, 2012
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 WTVR, "Richmond attorneys express support of Tracy Thorne-Begland," June 13, 2012
10. ↑ WTVR, "Commonwealth’s Attorney calls state judicial vote ‘bigotry’," May 15, 2012
11. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

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