Oil on canvas, 42 x 32 in., by Hugo Stevens, 1975
Location: courtroom, right

Born October 24, 1929 in Portsmouth, Virginia.
Died April 9, 2006 in Richmond, Virginia.

Appointed by Governor Mills E. Godwin, Jr. on September 4, 1974 to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Harold Fleming Snead and began his service on October 1, 1974. First elected on January 29, 1975 to a 12-year term (beginning February 1, 1975.) Service terminated by retirement.

Education:
Washington and Lee University, B.A., 1950
Washington and Lee, LL.B., 1953

Other judicial service:
Judge, Law and Equity Court, City of Richmond, Virginia, 1966-1974

Professional career:
Private practice of law in Richmond, Virginia, 1957-1966

Military service:
World War II (Navy)

Further reading/Research collections

Sources:
Appointed, “Richmond Judge Gets Va. Court Post,” by Helen Dewar, Washington Post Staff Writer, The Washington Post (1974-Current file) [Washington, D.C.], September 5, 1974: D2; qualified, 215 Va., iii; elected, Journal of the Senate of Virginia, 1975 Session, 271; retired, 259 Va., v; birth, death, and career, memorial statement, April 17, 2006, published in 271 Va., xiii, and transcript of portrait presentation on February 28, 2006, published in 272 Va., x-xi; education, House Joint Resolution No. 5056, offered May 10, 2006, retrieved on March 18, 2014; portrait, Library of Virginia catalog. Justice Compton continued to serve the court as a retired (senior) justice from his retirement in 2000 until his death in 2006.