Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / July 7, 1994, edition 1 / Page 3
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Lawyers, Judges Happy for Judge Biggs, Heep Her With Praise By RICHARD L. WILLIAMS Chronicle Executive Editor ' . Most area lawyers and judges were not shocked to hear that Loretta C, Biggs announced her res ignation this week as Forsyth County district court judge. Many had heard rumols for as long as six weeks that Biggs would accept a position with the U.S. attor ney's office in Greensboro. "I'm a federal judge and it would be wise for ihe to know what's jgoing on in the federal court," said Senior UfS. District Court Judge Richard C. Erwin. "It was one of the things that was told to you and was said to keep your mouth shut, and this time it waa done. That's pretty hard to do here and in most places." * Erwin said he is happy for Biggs. "I think she will do an excellent job; she is held in high esteem," said Erwin, a federal judge for nearly 14 years, j Superior Court Judge James A. Beaty said he was not surprised by Biggs' move. "It will give her the opportunity to expand her horizons a little bit," he said. "Certainly, I wish her well/' He said there is tremendous pressure day in and day out on dis trict court judges. It was not surpris ing, he said, that when the position became available. that U.S. Attorney ' Walter C. Holt6n Jr. would lqok to Biggs. The two worked together in the Forsyth County district attor ney's office in the mid-1980s and have remained close. Others also offered p^ise for Forsyth County's first black female district court judge. "I'm 'very pleased that Loretta has been selected to be an assistant U.S. attorney," said Phillip S. Banks III, a Winston-Salem lawyer. "I went to school with Loretta and she is highly intelligent and a good strategic thinker. I think the coihmu nity will benefit from her time and service." Biggs and Banks attended Howard University law school. AfteT law. school. Biggs became legal counsel for Coca-Cola Co. in her hometown of Atlanta. She later moved to Forsyth County, whep her husband was hired at Wachovia Corp. and became an assistant dis trict attorney. She also has served as an adjunct law professor at Wake Forest School of Law. "She's an excellent judge. It's a lost to the district court bench for her to leave," said Luellen Curry, an associate professor of law at Wake Forest. - ?? Rep. Annie Brown Kennedy, D-Forsyth and of the law firm Kennedy Kennedy Kennedy & Kennedy, said Biggs in her new role will complement the crime-preven tion efforts of Attorney General Janet Reno. ? "I think Judge Biggs will do well," Kennedy said. "Perhaps her new position will bf a challenge to find ways to help reduce crime. "I feel (Reno) is sincere about J finding ways to reduce Crime and I feel Judge Biggs will add to the goal of reducing crime in the Middle District," Kennedy said. "I feel (Biggs') background andy experience will help (Reno) to not only recog nize what some of our problems are, but will also ensure that they are effectively addressed." Biggs said that it is "highly likely" that she would have some contact with Reno. "I could have contact with Reno," Biggs said. 'Tnp being brought on to implement programs that she is advocating." Biggs' husband, Larry, is vice president and manager of commu nity development for Wachovia Corp. They live in Lewisville and have two children, ages 10 and 8. ... ? r Judge Biggs to Join nity to do some things I can't do from the bench." Biggs will work closely with local agencies to implement some programs that will help curb vio lence ? the first time such effort has been undertaken by the U.S. attorney's office . ; ; Biggs said she expects to have a lfcrge impact on crime reduction because of the federal funds that will be available. On the local level, less money is available tto enact pro gram*. ? ? ? ? "If we can keep some of the younger kids from coming into the system then we've accomplished something," she said. "But we can't fix the situation we're in overnight ? just like it was not overnight that we got into this fix." Big?s, 40, makes $65,674 as a , district court judge; her new salary could not confirmed yesterday. Scott Mebane, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Greensboro, _ : . i ? said salaries of assistant U.S. attor neys are not public record ? only that of the" U.S. Attorney Walter C Holton Jr., who makes $115,700 annually, j Biggs will work out of the Greensboro federal office for about two months before manning the vacant federal office here. ? ? Her departure will leave only one black and one female among the remaining six judges in district court. Gov. Jim Hunt has the power to make an appointment for her seat . following recommendations from the Forsyth County Bar. The bar must hol<f an election wtthin a month of the effective date of Biggs' resignation. It then must submit three names ro Hunt. If Hunt fails to name a replacement afjer two months, :the judgeship goes to the bar member with the highest votes. Biggs said she would like a black female to replace her. She mentioned the name of one of her ? if from page 1 closest friends, Beverly R. Mitchell, a graduate of Wake Forest law school and a solo practitioner of civil law, as a potential candidate. Whoever replaces Biggs would have to riin in the 1996 election to retain the seat. Biggs came to the bench in_ 1987 when she was appointed by Hunt. She retained the seat by win ning two elections, one unopposed and one a bitterly fought contest against Tori Roemer. During that 1992 campaigiuRoemer^ thedaugh ter of a wealthy and influential Republican, was fired as an assis tant district attorney by District Attorney Tom Keith for running what he called a racist campaign, The move will reunite Biggs with Holton, who was named U.S. Attorney for the Middle District in March by President Clinton. Biggs and Holton worked together in the Forsyth County district attorney's office in the mid-1 980s. . _ ? \ ' v ' ' : ' ' ? . ? ? * Biggs~Could Be Positioned any level ? is not a prerequisite for a federal judge appointment. On several instances lawyers have been appointed to federal judge without ever sitting on a state bfcnch or working in as a federal prosecutor. Few of them, however, have been a minority and.even fewer womep. "Federal judges come from all sorts of background," said Bob Walsh. Dean of the Wake Forest University law school. While Biggs strains to keep from intimating that she will usfe the assistant U.S. attorney's position as a stepping stone, she does realize ttiat tne opportunity ior a federal judge position is there. "There certainly is a possibility of that,, and this position clearly postures me for that," she said. i' * * . "That clearly may be an option at some point." Biggs said that should she look to exercise that option, "it would help tremendously" to have worked in the U.S. attorney's offjce. Others, including lawyer and state Rep. Annie Brown Kennedy, D-Forsyth, C agree. "1 would think that the U.S. attorney's office being a federal position might be a good move for her," Kennedy said. "It could put her on track to be _a federal judge, " At 40. Biggs has had an accel erated political career since she first lelt Howard University School ul Law in 1979 in the top five of her class. She was legal counsel for CocarCola Co. in Atlanta before she became an assistant district from page 1 attorney in Forsyth County. From there, she received an appointment from the governor to the bench -fol lowed by two elected terms ? one unopposed and one that was bitterly contested and included charges of racist tactics by hei opponent, the daughter of an aristocratic Republi can.* Campaigning is the one thing that Biggs said she does not miss. A federal prosecutor is not an elected office, and although her boss, U.S. A ttorn ev Walter C. Holton Jr.. could lose his appointment under a Republican administration "if Dcniuuiats lose the presidency In 1996, Biggs' job is secure for a life time. i letteM It is with raised Mnouons that I Wide y of resignation as District Court judge toOov. Jim Hunt this week. Serving this corarauraty first as fig personally rewarding. The decision to step down has | come after much deliberation and prayer, Thank you? for allowing me to serve you. V will continue to serve this communityauk*^i| | assistant United States attorney for the Middle Dis- % | tri&t of North Carolina *gth special duties in the area^t of crime prevention. My experience on die bench has \ taught me that crime prevention must be a major f component of any long-term law-enforcement strat egy if that tragedy isto be effective in reducing crime and not merely punishing criminals. Attorney Gen coordinate strategies to reduce crime in the Mi^e I For the last few years I have assessed and 4 indeed been a pan of a criminal justice system that has struggled to cope with the escalation in violent crime of otir youth. It has become increasingly clear . 10 me that often by the tirae these young people ?? ? ^ know that the enters; and fh?K nrnKUm tms problem Hlw is willing to die or kill ~t u We must apart of this Bidders Fail in Mirrorily, Wumen Hiring^ accepting new bids. The board of aldermen voted 4 3 Tuesday to look for new bids because the two top contenders, Fabrizio Construction Co. and Turner Building Systems, used its own methods to find minorities instead of guidelines set by the city. . Turner, who proposed to do the entire job for $288,176; followed the city's guidelines but didn't com mit to hiring any minority or women subcontractors. "I think we need to go back and give them both a chance to start over;" said East Ward Alderman Joycelyn Johnson, who moved to reject the bids. ."There were a lot of inconsistencies on everyone's part." Fabrizio Construction Co. bid ded $225,000 for the project and agreed to hire minorities and women but missed the goals of 12 percent minority and 3 percent women. Allen Joines, an assistant city manager, said the city feels that the good-faith effort has worked well in the past, but will review the guide lines. from page 1 "We had 67 percent of projects by contractors last year that exceeded the goals established," he "said. "We feel it's working well, but we will look at the good-faith model r to prevent further occurrences." Economic Development Key Challenge for Blacks The conference's theme. Chal lenges of the 21st Century, will explore important issues facing the African-American community such as the future of the youth, economic development, education and poli tics. Caucus planners expect a num ber of African-American leaders across the state to pour into Win ston-Salem. Some of the expected attendees include state Speaker of the House Dan Blue, Rainbow Coalition President Jesse Jackson and Congressmen Eva Clayton and Mel Watt. Many local business and community leaders are also expected to attend. Harris said resources to help African Americans become more aware of money set aside for eco nomic development by the General Assembly will be discussed. She said, in general, most people are not familiar with the state's budget. There are some opportunities for resources, but many times they are hard to reach. She added that the workshop will also deal with issues surrounding business and commu nity development. One of the conference high lights will be a tribute to retiring and deceased legislators. Pat Degraffin reaidt, Qne of the event's organizers, said two of the honorees are Rep. Annie Brown-Kennedy and deceased Rep. Herman Gist of Greensboro. The tribute will be on the June 15 at the Anderson Center at Winston-Salem State University. Youths will also be a part of this year's conference. They will participate in workshops dealing with issues facing their generation. "The workshops will be geared toward being informative and proac tive to get the black youth really thinking about are they prepared for the 21st century," Earline Parmon said. Parmon, executive director of LIFT Academy and Forsyth County Commissioner, has been working with youth to plan the workshops. She said they came up with the ideas for the workshops and prospective speakers. Degraffinreaidt referred to the youth sessions as a "conference within the conference." Parmon agreed, saying the youth conference is not separate from the caucus con ference, but is an opportunity for youth to learn how to develop their own conferences and focus on issues on their own. There will be opportunities for interaction with adult leaders and all of the meals will be together, including the youth luncheon on Saturday. The youth workshops are designed to deal with a wide variety of topics such as cultural issues, sex, violence and education. The Rev. John Mendez, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church, will lead a workshop on conflict resolu tion and Smith will lead a session on rites of passage. Parmon said other speakers have been asked to participate, including motivational speakers from Dayton, Ohio. Youths staying overnight will get a taste of the college atmosphere because they will be housed at WSSU. And all youth activities will take place on the campus. "If we're going to be talking about education, we should give them exposure to campus life," Par from page 1 mon said. Representatives from the state's 11 historically black colleges have been invited to the conference to speak to the youths. Parmon said the workshops will deal with the issues and hold noth ing back. ? "We're dealing with a crisis and we don't need to play games with our youth," Parmon said. "We need to help them understand and hope funy give them some skills to be able to cope with upcoming chal lenges." In addition to the workshops, youth will also have a pizza party Friday and a dance on Saturday. East Winston CDC Gets $ 1 60,000 in Grant Money tion for at least three years are con sidered mature, she said. These investments by CDI are designed to stimulate $100 million of development over the next three years. CDI grew out of the need for added support and funding for CDCs in North Carolina. It is the only statewide public-private part nership of this type in the country that has brought together local lead ers. state capital, private foundations and private corporations The East Winston CDC also received an interest-free planning loan for $13,500 from the N.C. Housing Finance Agency's HOME program to develop rental housing for low-income families. The Hous ing Finance Agency is a self-sup porting agency created by the Gen eral Assembly. CDC funds are part of a total $8.6 million given out for affordable housing. The loans pay for market studies and architectural, engineer ing and environmental work that is necessary before a new develop ment can apply for permanent financing. A memo from the agency indi- , cates that the CDC plans to use the money as a planning loan for 48 rental units produced through acqui from page 1 sition and rehabilitation of six build- , ings. CDC Executive Director James Grace could not be reached for com ment.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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July 7, 1994, edition 1
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