Virginia's first black chief justice - Speaking Of People - Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr - Brief Article

Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. was elected chief justice of Virginia's Supreme Court, making him the first African-American to hold this post. This was the first time Virginia's legislature enacted a new law that required chief justices to be elected by a majority vote instead of seniority. Hassell is the second African-American justice on the state Supreme Court.

The Norfolk native was the jurist in residence for four years at Regent University's School of Law and a partner in the law firm MeGuireWoods in Richmond. He graduated from the University of Virginia with honors in 1977 and earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1980. The chief justice lives in Richmond with his wife Linda and their three children.

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