Lawrence Warren I’Anson, September 3, 1958-January 31, 1981 (Chief Justice, September 30, 1974-January 31, 1981)

I'Anson close up
Oil on canvas, by Peter Stevens, 1986
Location: courtroom, left

Born April 21, 1907 in Portsmouth, Virginia.
Died December 17, 1990 in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Appointed by Governor J. Lindsay Almond on August 25, 1958 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Edward Wren Hudgins and began his service on September 3, 1958. Elected by the General Assembly on January 30, 1959 to complete the unexpired term of Hudgins. First elected to a regular 12-year term (beginning February 1, 1966) on January 27, 1966. Service terminated by retirement.

Succeeded Harold Fleming Snead as chief justice when Snead retired on September 30, 1974. Service terminated by retirement.

Education:
College of William and Mary, A.B., 1928
University of Virginia, LL.B., 1931

Other judicial service:
Judge, Hustings Court, Portsmouth, Virginia, 1941-1958.

Professional career:
Private practice in Portsmouth, Virginia, 1931-1939.
Commonwealth’s attorney, Portsmouth, Virginia, 1939-1941.

Further reading/Research collections 

Sources:
Appointed, “L.W. I’Anson Appointed to State Court,” The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959) [Washington, D.C.], August 26, 1958: A10; qualified, 200 Va., iii; elected to complete the unexpired term of Hudgins, Journals of the Senate of Virginia 1959 Extra Session, 37; first elected to a 12-year term, Journals of the House of Delegates of Virginia, 1966 Regular Session, 146; died in Portsmouth, “Former Chief Justice Lawrence I’Anson, 83, Dies,” The Washington Post (1974-Current file); December 19, 1990: B10; succeeded Chief Justice Snead as chief, 215 Va., iii; retired, 221 Va.. iii; professional career, other judicial service, and law degree, transcript of portrait presentation on June 15, 1983, 225 Va., vii-xxvi; undergraduate degree, The Colonial Echo (1928), the student yearbook of the College of William and Mary, 72, retrieved on September 24, 2014; portrait, Library of Virginia catalog. An earlier portrait was commissioned by the Virginia State Bar Association and completed in 1960/1961; see Report of the Portrait Committee, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Virginia State Bar Association, August 1961 (Richmond: Keel Williams Corporation, Printers, 1961), 93.