In an increasingly complex legal world, Robert F. Horan Jr. keeps it old school. He typically shows up for hearings, and trials, by himself -- no legal assistants, no junior prosecutors. A legal pad. A case file. Maybe a law book.Fairfax County's chief prosecutor for 40 years sits with the other lawyers on Friday motions days, waiting for his case to be called like everyone else. The judges tend to call his first, though. His office doesn't have a Web page. Or a spokesman. He doesn't have voice mail.
But the old school is closing. Horan announced yesterday that he will not run for an 11th term. His hearing is failing, he said, though it has been for years, and he wasn't sure he could serve four more years, though his health is good.
When other prosecutors have long since staked out a daily tee time or abandoned the courtroom for administrative tasks, Horan, 74, continues to try cases. Next month, he and his chief deputy will tackle a double-murder death penalty trial with no witnesses and no statement from the defendant, in what probably will be Horan's swan song.
Read More
