Spotsylvania Judge Charged with Bribery Has Been "Cooperative and Responsive," Prosecutor Says
Richard McGrath was indicted on June 4 by a grand jury.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Richard McGrath—the chief judge of the General District Court circuit that includes Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Caroline, and King George—was indicted by a grand jury earlier this month on a felony charge of bribery.
This week, the court-appointed special prosecutor in the case—Nate Green, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Williamsburg and James City County—provided a few further details about the case.
McGrath is specifically charged with “Solicitation of any benefit as consideration for or in exchange for his decision in a judicial proceeding” under Virginia Code section 18.2-447, Green wrote in an email to the Advance on Monday.
Online Circuit Court case information gives McGrath’s status as “fugitive,” but Green said this designation is “overly technical and therefore misleading to the average citizen.”
“The capias [arrest warrant or order to appear in court] has not been served as of today (June, 16th), but law enforcement has been in consistent communication with Judge McGrath and he has been nothing but cooperative and responsive with regard to coordinating the service of the capias upon him,” Green wrote.
According to case information, the date of McGrath’s alleged offense is July 15, 2024. There is no publicly available information about the public official or officials involved in the alleged offense.
The Advance reported in June of 2024 that McGrath was the subject of a judicial complaint filed by “at least one person” who was present at an April 23, 2024, hearing on assault charges brought by former Riverbend High School principal Xavier Downs against Cory Ellis, the parent of a student on the varsity swim team.
McGrath was the presiding judge at the April 2024 hearing, and as the Advance reported, he asked the witness called for Ellis to be sworn in and state his name, but did not make the same requirement of the witness called for Downs.
The Advance made a request with the Virginia Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission under the Freedom of Information Act for complaints filed about McGrath, but was told by the commission’s counsel that “All proceedings involving complaints that may be received by the Commission are made confidential by state law.”
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Shouldn't the person who bribed the judge be charged, too?
Right like he’s supposed to be “honorable” so I feel as if any cases he tried should be retried or thrown out! Also I mean if he’s doing bribes they should both be charged for it but go figure he’s a fugitive n yet isn’t n jail but let it me anyone else n they would b locked up on the spot! It’s so unfair how they do things! Cuz he’s a judge he gets a better treatment instead of throwing the book at him because if ANYONE KNOWS BETTER IT SHOULD B HIM! Jus sayin