Oil on canvas, by Jean Garver, unveiled in 1998
Location: courtroom, rear
Born 1940 in Roanoke, Virginia.
First elected by the General Assembly on February 25, 1995 to a 12-year term beginning August 16, 1995, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Henry Hudson Whiting. Service terminated by retirement.
Education:
Virginia Tech, B.S., 1962
University of Richmond, J.D., 1965
Other judicial service:
Judge, Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, Roanoke, 1968-1976.
Judge, Twenty-third Judicial Circuit, 1976-1985.
Judge, Court of Appeals of Virginia, 1985-1995 (Chief Judge, 1985-1993).
Professional career:
Private practice of law in Roanoke, Virginia, 1965-1967.
Assistant commonwealth’s attorney, Roanoke, Virginia, 1967-1968.
Member, The McCammon Group (mediation), 2011-present.
Sources:
Elected, “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, Mary Reincke and Nancy Lichterman, eds., The American Bench: Judges of the Nation Second Annual Edition (Minneapolis: Reginald Bishop Foster & Associates, Inc.), 1979-1980. Justice Koontz has continued to serve the court as a senior justice (retired), from 2011-present.