Photographic portrait, 1985.

Born 1940 in Roanoke, Virginia.
Died March 16, 2025 in Salem, Virginia.

First elected by the General Assembly on December 17, 1984 to an eight-year term beginning January 1, 1985. Service terminated by election as justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia.

First elected chief judge on April 1, 1985 to a four-year term beginning April 1. Service terminated by election as justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Education:

Virginia Tech, B.S., 1962.
University of Richmond, J.D., 1965.

Other judicial service:

Judge, Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, Roanoke, Virginia, 1968-1976.
Judge, Twenty-Third Judicial Circuit of Virginia, 1976-1985.
Justice, Supreme Court of Virginia, 1995-2011.

Professional career:

Private practice in Roanoke, Virginia,1965-1967.
Assistant commonwealth’s attorney, Roanoke, Virginia, 1967-1968.

Oral histories

Supreme Court of Virginia portrait

Sources:

Elected, Journal of the House of Delegates, 1984 session, 10; elected chief judge, 1 Va.App., i; service as chief judge, 19 Va.App., i; elected justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, “Koontz Gets Benched, But He Won’t Be Complaining,” The Roanoke Times, February 26, 1995; sworn in, 250 Va., v; retired and took senior status, 281 Va., v; birth, education, and career, transcript of service recognition ceremony on January 13, 2011, published in 281 Va., xxvii-xxviii; and transcript of portrait presentation on November 2, 2011, published in 282 Va., lxiii; assistant commonwealth’s attorney, The American Bench: Judges of the Nation (Reginald Bishop Foster & Associates, Inc., 1979-1980). Justice Koontz continued to serve the court as a senior justice (retired), from 2011 through December 2024. Obituary: “Former state Supreme Court Justice Lawrence Koontz dies. He’s hailed as ‘one of the most consequential judges in Virginia history’”, Cardinal News (March 17, 2025).