predecessor successor birth_name birth_place death_date death_place office birth_date term_start appointer spouse article_title term_end name alma_mater
harry l. carrico john c. thomas cynthia d. kinser cleo e. powell leroy rountree hassell norfolk , virginia , u.s. 9 february 2011 richmond , virginia , u.s. 24th court of virginia chief justice of virginia justice of the supreme 17 august 1955 february 1 , 2003 december 28 , 1989 gerald l. baliles linda greene leroy r. hassell , sr. .
 february 1 , 2011 february 9 , 2011 leroy r. hassell , sr. . university j.d. -rrb- of virginia -lrb- b.a. -rrb- harvard university -lrb-
leroy r. hassell , sr. .

leroy rountree hassell , sr. -lrb- august 17 , 1955 -- february 9 , 2011 -rrb- , was a justice of the virginia supreme court and the first african-american chief justice of that court , serving two four-year terms from february 1 , 2003 , to january 31 , 2011 .
he was succeeded by the current chief justice , cynthia d. kinser .
hassell was a 1973 graduate of norview high school of norfolk , virginia , where he was voted `` most likely to succeed '' .
he also served on the board of visitors of the regent university school of law .
hassell attended the university of virginia for his undergraduate degree , where he earned a ba in 1977 .
he earned his j.d. from harvard law school in 1980 .
after law school , hassell worked for the richmond branch of mcguire woods , where he was made a partner in seven years .
hassell was appointed to the virginia supreme court in 1989 by governor gerald baliles .
he then was elected chief justice by his peers on the court in 2002 .
he became the first african -- american virginia chief justice on february 1 , 2003 .
hassell was ill during most of the final year of his service as chief justice and did not sit in the final session of the court in january 2011 .
the court announced on february 9 , 2011 , that hassell had died .
the `` richmond times-dispatch '' reported that the cause of death was complications from lymphoma .
hassell 's body lay in state february 11 in the rotunda of the virginia state capitol , his casket draped with the flag of virginia .
he was the first african -- american person in virginia to be accorded that honor .
he was survived by his widow , two daughters , a son , and a grandchild .
he was interred on february 12 , 2011 , at greenwood memorial gardens cemetery following a memorial service at faith landmark ministries .
