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Legal eagle leaving
Westmoreland Commonwealth's Attorney Richard Stuart announces resignation
Date published: 6/23/2005
By FRANK DELANO Westmoreland County Commonwealth's Attorney Richard H. Stuart said yesterday he is resigning because of health issues in his family. Stuart, 41, said he was unable to balance the demands of his job with the needs of his family, which he declined to discuss publicly. "The problem was trying to do both things," said Stuart, whose resignation is effective Sunday. "This frees me up." Stuart said Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Dean Atkins would be sworn in as the county's chief prosecutor tomorrow afternoon. The county's circuit court will likely order a special election in November for the job, Stuart said. He said he expects to clean out his office this weekend and eventually resume the private law practice he began in Montross in 1993. Stuart defeated incumbent Commonwealth's Attorney Peggy Evans Garland in November 2003, with 64 percent of the vote. Garland, now also in private practice in Montross, said she would not be a candidate for the post. "I'm very happy doing what I'm doing," she said. In March, the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors allowed Stuart to use surplus funds to hire a second assistant prosecutor for three months to give Stuart time to deal with his family matters. The special appropriation expires June 30. In a letter to a local paper, Hampton France of Montross criticized the board's action: "Why are the taxpayers of Westmoreland County paying someone else to do the Commonwealth's Attorney's job? When most people have personal or family problems, they have to figure out a way to handle it themselves. The county doesn't usually step in and bail them out. Why is Richard Stuart different?" Stuart, a member of a prominent county family, graduated in 1982 from Washington & Lee High School in Montross, followed by college, law school and six years in the Marine Corps. He served briefly as Westmoreland's county attorney in 2003. Robert J. Wittman, chairman of the Westmoreland supervisors, said the board will hold a special meeting at 8:30 a.m. Monday to accept Stuart's resignation and direct the county attorney to petition the circuit court for a special election. To reach FRANK DELANO:
Read more stories about Westmoreland Date published: 6/23/2005
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