City's Circuit Court clerk announces retirement

With nearly 40 years in the local judicial system, Lynchburg Circuit Court Clerk Larry Palmer said Tuesday he will retire Jan. 1.

Palmer, 62, was appointed to his current position in 1991 when the previous clerk retired. He then was elected three times as an independent, most recently in 2003.

“This is the most rewarding job I’ve ever had in my entire life,” he said. “It’s having the opportunity to help people. It is actually fun for me to get up and go to work. We get to do such a variety of things, from mild things to very complex issues, and I never know what I’m going to be dealing with next.”

Palmer said he is retiring to spend more time with his children and grandchild.

He started working in the clerk’s office in 1971 after being discharged from the Air Force. In 1974, with the advent of the magistrate system, he was appointed chief magistrate of the 24th Circuit, which includes Amherst, Bedford, Campbell and Nelson counties and Lynchburg.

He worked as a technical assistant to the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1979 and ran a local office for the Supreme Court in Lynchburg from the mid-1980s until his appointment as circuit court clerk when predecessor Juanita Shields retired.

Since the early 1970s, he said, the biggest advances have come in the automation of record keeping and processing. Since taking over the clerk’s job, he said, the digitalization of records has also been important.

The records room at the clerk’s office was expanded by about 50 percent when he took the job. Two years later, it was full, he said. Without computerized records, he said it would have been nearly impossible to keep up with the volume of paperwork.

Judge Mosby Perrow, who appointed Palmer, said his biggest accomplishment has been expanding the services provided by his office in times when state funding has decreased.

“He’s been a pleasure to work with and I wish him well in his retirement,” Perrow said.

Lynchburg Police Chief Parks Snead said he remembered Palmer’s advice to his class when his was in basic police school in 1984.

“He spoke about taking pride and getting involved in your work, yet not becoming obsessed with it and remembering your family,” Snead said. “It’s the same advice I give young officers in 2009.”

Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Mike Doucette and Public Defender Sharon Eimer both praised Palmer’s dedication to the office.

“He is a fixture in the Lynchburg courts,” Eimer said. “I feel the key to good leadership and management is hiring good folks, and he really has a knack for hiring the people who keep things running so smoothly.”

Lynchburg Bar Association President Ron Henderson also thanked Palmer for his work during his tenure and said he will be missed.

Two years remain in Palmer’s term. Under Virginia law, the job could fall to his most senior deputy clerk until the next election. However, he said, that deputy has said she is not interested. If that remains the case, he said, the circuit court judges could appoint a replacement.