Portsmouth Holds Swearing-In Ceremony For New Judge

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

Portsmouth Circuit Court Judge Lavonda N. Graham-Williams will assume her new position in January following a recent swearing-in ceremony on Dec. 5.

The former Portsmouth city attorney relocated from Washington, D.C. to her hometown Portsmouth in 2022 and became the first Black female to permanently hold the post. She is among the first Black females appointed to serve as Portsmouth Circuit Court judge.

“I’m honored to continue to serve the city. It’s my hometown. It’s where I got my legal beginnings,” Graham-Williams said, when her appointment to the bench was announced in March. “It’s bittersweet because there’s a lot more work to do with the city, of course, and serving as city attorney has always been one of my biggest career accomplishments.”

Graham-Williams earned her jurisprudence degree at The College of William and Mary after she earned her undergraduate degree at George Washington University. She’s a graduate of I. C. Norcom High School.

She headed a law firm in Washington, D.C. before she returned home to Portsmouth. She led the city through a number of high-profile lawsuits, including litigation from former City Manager Angel Jones and former Portsmouth City Assessor Patrick Dorris. She also led efforts to acquire the Hampton Roads Regional Jail and transition it for use as a city jail, and she represents the city on the Southeastern Public Service Authority board that oversees some of the region’s waste disposal.

Graham-Williams also highlighted efforts to research, preserve and recognize historically Black and neglected areas of the city, such as the Sugar Hill neighborhood in Pinners Point, the Bernard D. Griffin Sr. Park and Lincoln Memorial Cemetery.

Her greatest accomplishment in her former role was bringing calm to the chaos in Portsmouth, she said, pointing to how her office collaborated with city officials on “a laundry list“ of issues including obtaining violence intervention grants and working with city leaders to resolve disputes, she said. “And I think our office played a role in creating that kind of diplomacy through some tough times and through some great times.”