Asbury Christian Compton (October 24, 1929 – April 9, 2006) was an American attorney and judge who served as a justice of the
Supreme Court of Virginia from 1974 until 2000, and as a Senior justice until his death.
Compton was a native of
Ashland in
Hanover County, Virginia
Hanover County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 109,979. Its county seat is Hanover Courthouse.
Hanover County is a part of the Greater Richmond Region.
History
Located in the wester ...
, and graduated from Ashland High School in 1946. Compton earned his B.A. in history and politics from
Washington and Lee
, mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future"
, established =
, type = Private liberal arts university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.092 billion (2021)
, president = William C. Dudley
, provost = Lena Hill
, city = Lexington ...
in 1950 and his LL.B. from the
Washington and Lee University School of Law
The Washington and Lee University School of Law (W&L Law) is the professional graduate law school of Washington and Lee University. It is a private American Bar Association-accredited law school located in Lexington in the Shenandoah Valley regi ...
in 1953. While at Washington and Lee, Compton served as president of
Phi Kappa Sigma
Phi Kappa Sigma () is an international all-male college secret society and social fraternity. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are Skulls, Skullhouse, Phi Kap, and PKS (the fi ...
fraternity, class officer and captain of the basketball team. He was also a member of
Omicron Delta Kappa, the lacrosse team,
Phi Alpha Delta
Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International ( or P.A.D.) is the largest professional law fraternity in the United States. Founded in 1902, P.A.D. has since grown to 717 established pre-law, law, and alumni chapters and over 330,000 initiated m ...
legal fraternity, the University
Glee Club
A glee club in the United States is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs by trios or quartets. In the late 19th century it w ...
and the
Cotillion Club.
Compton served in the U.S. Navy from 1953 to 1956 and the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1953 to 1961. He practiced law in Richmond with May, Garrett, Miller, Newman and Compton from 1957 to 1966.
In 1966,
Gov. Mills Godwin appointed Compton to the Law & Equity Court of the City of Richmond and then to the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1974. The
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...
re-elected him to another term in 1987. He retired from the Supreme Court in February 2000 and began service as a senior justice.
Compton maintained strong ties to Washington and Lee throughout his career. He served as president of the Alumni Association from 1972 to 1973. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from his alma mater in 1975. He served member of the Board of Trustees from 1978 to 1989. He selected most of his law clerks from the top graduates of Washington and Lee School of Law.
Compton was married to Betty Stephenson Compton for 52 years until his death. They had three daughters—Leigh Compton Kiczales, Mary Compton Psyllos, Melissa Compton Patterson; and eight grandsons-Nicholas Kiczales, Luke Kiczales, Noah Stephenson Kiczales, Thomas Psyllos, Christian Psyllos, Daniel Patterson, James Patterson, and Henry Patterson.
Resolution of the Virginia General Assembly on the Death of A. Christian Compton
Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia
Virginia lawyers
United States Navy officers
1929 births
2006 deaths
Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni
Washington and Lee University alumni
People from Ashland, Virginia
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