The first time that Timothy J. Heaphy was sworn in as the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia — on Oct. 16, two days after his Senate confirmation — he said he was thrilled to hop in his car and drive to Chief Judge James P. Jones’ Abingdon chambers for the occasion.
During his formal installation ceremony Friday at the University of Virginia School of Law’s Caplin Pavilion, Heaphy repeated the oath in front of hundreds of people. This time, it was punctuated with laughter as Heaphy’s daughter tugged on his earlobe while nestled into his arms.
“Doing this here in this building is particularly special to me,” said Heaphy, who is a UVa undergrad and law graduate.
Coincidentally, Heaphy’s former roommate at UVa — Neil H. MacBride — serves as the U.S. attorney for the eastern end of the state.
Heaphy’s installation was a family affair that included remarks from his father-in-law, Eric K. Shinseki, secretary of the U.S. Department of Veter-ans Affairs. One of Heaphy’s first bosses also spoke on his behalf — U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.
During Heaphy’s interview for an assistant U.S. attorney position in Washington’s federal district, Holder said he knew he would hire him. Holder said Heaphy became the go-to guy in the office.
“I have no doubt he will handle his new responsibilities as he handed his previous responsibilities — with confidence, diligence and, most importantly, integrity,” Holder said.
No direct mention was made of Holder’s controversial decision to try Khalid Sheikh Moham-med, the self-described mastermind behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, in a Manhattan court. Heaphy said that not all of Holder’s decisions have been popular, but Holder told Heaphy on his first day as a prosecutor that he should always do the right thing.
After serving as an assistant federal prosecutor in D.C. and western Virginia for 12 years, Heaphy spent three years with McGuireWoods LLP in Charlottesville working on white collar crime cases. Heaphy said after the installation that he didn’t set out to be the region’s U.S. attorney, but he was happy to seize the opportunity when it arose.
During his remarks on Friday, Heaphy said the Western District of Virginia contains a wide variety of localities and issues, and he wants to focus on each individual community and listen to its members. In addition to taking cases to court, Heaphy said he wants to preclude further crimes through “treatment and diversion.” He also mentioned creating a community outreach coordinator position to work with citizens.
Unlike his predecessors, Heaphy, 45, will remain in Charlottesville and visit the main Roanoke office a few times a week. He said he wants to keep his family in the area and that staying here will give him a chance to travel more to other parts of the jurisdiction.
Heaphy replaces Julia C. Dudley, who served as acting U.S. attorney after John Brownlee stepped down to make an eventually unsuccessful run for the GOP nomination for Virginia attorney general. Dudley now serves as principal assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District.
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