Chesterfield judge appointed to Circuit Court

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has appointed Judge Harold W. Burgess Jr. to Virginia's 12th Judicial Circuit, which serves Chesterfield County and Colonial Heights.

Burgess, a judge of Chesterfield's Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, will fill the seat vacated by Judge Cleo E. Powell, whom Kaine appointed in August to the Virginia Court of Appeals.

Burgess has been a juvenile and domestic court judge since 1996, and served as that court's chief judge from 1998-2000 and 2002-2004.

"I'm pleased to appoint such an experienced and well-respected judge to serve in one of our circuit courts," Kaine said in a statement.

The seat Burgess will fill was initially given to lawyer John V. Cogbill III, who was elected by the General Assembly in March. But Cogbill declined the post because of family reasons after first accepting it.

Before becoming a judge, Burgess worked 22 years in private practice as a partner in Beddow, Marley, Burgess and Associates. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond in 1968 and a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1972.