Judge Taunts Teen in Capital Murder Case

 

16 January 2014

 

 

 

By Xavier James

　

　

Hampton- A hush of silence engulfed a Hampton courtroom Thursday morning as Juvenile

and Domestic Relations Court Judge Deborah S. Roe repeatedly yelled angrily at her juvenile

suspect; "Your only options are the death penalty or life in prison...death penalty or life in prison...death penalty or life in prison, she repeated over and over again.

 

The sixteen- year old, whose name is being withheld because he is a minor, was charged with the new years eve shooting deaths of two Hampton men who were trying to rob him at a skateboard park on Woodland road. The park is a popular hang-out for skateboarders and BMX riders. Judge Roe's outburst was highly unusual since Thursday's court appearance was only to secure legal representation for the teen.

 

"Judge Roe would not be the presiding judge in this case," said a family friend. "Furthermore

he (the teen) hasn't even had a preliminary hearing yet. No evidence has been presented. What

happened to innocent until proven guilty?"

 

Judge Deborah S. Roe, a former prosecuter and partner with McDermott, Roe & Walter, replaced Judge Nelson Durden on the 8th District Court Juvenile Division. It is unclear if Judge Roe knew that under Virginia Law Code 18.2-31 that defines Capital Murder, the teen did not meet any of the critiria for capital punishment. Her taunts came on the heels of her ordering the family to find an attorney to represent the teen in less then two weeks.

 

"Unbelievable," said a family spokesman. "The parents went to court on January 2nd and she told them they had to have a lawyer by the sixteenth. How's that possible? Not counting weekends, that's only nine days. I've seen them give people longer then that to find a lawyer for a suspended license case. But that kid's charged with Capital Murder."

 

A Norfolk attorney speaking on condition of animinity was shocked. " If the teen is charged as an adult, his case would then be kicked out of juvenile court and sent to General District Court, and the judge you're talking about would have nothing to do with the case after that."  By law, a juvenile cannot be handed a death sentence unless they're tried as an adult. This case has yet to reach a preliminary hearing.

 

"This was no more than a lawyer check. It would take a lot longer than nine days to find a qualified trial lawyer whose handled capital murder cases. The Judges comments were premature, inappropriate wishful thinking at best. Clearly there's an unusual bias being displayed by Judge Roe. From all that I'm hearing some rights may have been violated here."