Portsmouth judge headed for U.S. court praised on all sides

PORTSMOUTH

The Portsmouth judge tapped last week for a federal district judgeship is a jurist with support from both sides of the political aisle.

Circuit Judge Mark S. Davis was nominated by the president and unanimously confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday. He will be assigned to the Walter E. Hoffman U.S. Courthouse on Norfolk's Granby Street.

Few in Portsmouth would argue with the choice.

Davis, who has been a Portsmouth Circuit judge for five years, is liked by people from all quarters: Republicans and Democrats, prosecutors and defense attorneys, and other judges.

"He's one of the few judges that I've never heard a complaint about," said Judge J.A. Cales Jr. "It's his demeanor. His fairness. The way he approaches the job and treats people."

Those qualities will serve him well in any court, Cales said.

Davis, 46, has had a longtime passion for government and the law.

He started thinking about a legal career when he was on the Wilson High tennis team and a group of lawyers would come to the school courts to play.

Back then Cales was the Portsmouth commonwealth's attorney. He gave Davis, then a high school junior, a part-time summer job in the victim witness program.

At 17, Davis spent about a month of his senior year working for a member of Congress from the western part of the state.

While at the University of Virginia, he held a summer internship with Sen. John Warner, a Republican. At age 22, he was hired to join Warner's staff.

"I guess I'm passionate about the government working properly," Davis said.

"Democracy - and our republic - is a great thing that we've been entrusted with, and we get to participate and make it work."

Davis got his law degree from Washington and Lee University in 1988, and then spent a year clerking for now-retired U.S. District Judge John A. MacKenzie.

In private practice, Davis litigated civil cases in federal court, including a lot of maritime work.

He's most known for representing the company that won the salvage rights to the Titanic.

"You are not going to find a stronger character in a judge," said Bryan Meals, chairman of the Portsmouth Republican Party. "What you see in the courtroom is what you get out of the courtroom."

He has been on the vestry and is a past senior warden of the Galilee Episcopal Church in Virginia Beach. He chaired

its mission committee for several years, and has made numerous mission trips to Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

The son of a third-generation contractor, Davis lives along the Elizabeth River in a Churchland home that his grandfather's company built. It's a perfect launching spot for the kayaking he has done for years.

But his mind is never far away from his chosen vocation, friends say.

Commonwealth's Attorney Earle C. Mobley said he can see Davis advancing to yet a higher court.

Both Mobley and State Del. Kenneth Melvin, D-Portsmouth, see Davis as a judicial scholar.

"He likes writing opinions. He's very thoughtful and deliberative in making decisions," Melvin said.

"I think lawyers like to practice before him," he added.

Now the question is who will replace him on the bench in Portsmouth.

Melvin would not comment other than to say "there's no shortage of candidates."

Until Davis resigns, officially there is no vacancy, Melvin said.

If it happens by the time the special General Assembly session convenes June 23, Melvin said, it's possible a new judge could be appointed then.

With vacancies in Norfolk and Virginia Beach circuit courts, the availability of retired judges to hear cases is already strained, Cales said.

"I'm sure just about all of them on the list could work every day."

Janie Bryant, (757) 446-2453, janie. bryant@pilotonline.com