-

Spotsylvania County's primary Circuit Court judge, who was appointed in 1999, says she will leave her seat on the bench in June 2007.

Date published: 7/29/2006

By BILL FREEHLING

Ann Hunter Simpson will soon trade in her black judge's robe for the attire of a cattle farmer.

Simpson, Spotsylvania County's primary Circuit Court judge, plans to retire from the bench when her current eight-year term ends June 30. She announced that this week during a meeting of the Fredericksburg Bar Association.

"It was not an easy decision to make," Simpson said yesterday during an interview in her office. "I have enjoyed what I've done very much."

Simpson, who was appointed as a circuit judge in 1999, said she started thinking about retirement this past spring. She'll turn 60 next June 23--a week before her term expires. She said she would not have completed another eight-year term, and she didn't want to start a term she wouldn't finish.

Simpson said she plans to continue to hear cases as a retired judge, filling in for full-time judges as needed. That will entail continuing legal education.

But she'll spend most of her time on a pursuit she's loved since her childhood--cattle farming.

Simpson's father was a cattle farmer, and she used to spend as much time as possible on his farm in the Hartwood area. Now Simpson and her husband, Louis Hitt, run that Stafford County farm.

Simpson said they have about 75 head of cattle. They run what's called a stocker operation--buying adolescent cattle and selling them a few years later when they're fully grown. She said their animals are "baldies"--non-purebred Black Angus cattle with black bodies and white faces.

Even now, while Simpson works full time as a judge, she's up by 5:30 a.m. to tend to the cattle before driving to Spotsylvania. She said she's looking forward to devoting more time to the operation with her husband.

"It is a love that both of us share," Simpson said.

She said she'll miss the people that she's been around as a judge. She'll be retiring from a career in law that has spanned more than three decades.

She attended James Monroe High School in Fredericksburg and earned her law degree in 1975 from the University of Richmond School of Law. She practiced law in Smithfield until returning to the Fredericksburg area in 1989.

From 1995 to 1999, she was a Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court judge in the Fredericksburg area's 15th judicial circuit.

She's seen the effect the area's growth has had on the courts' increasingly busy dockets. She said it won't be long before Spotsylvania will need a second full-time judge.

Simpson said she announced her retirement far in advance to give local attorneys and lower court judges time to consider their interest in the position.

The local bar association can make recommendations as to Simpson's successor to the General Assembly, which will choose her replacement next spring.

"I'm very grateful to our legislature for this opportunity to be a public servant," Simpson said.

To reach BILL FREEHLING: 540/374-5424
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com

Read more stories about Spotsylvania
Date published: 7/29/2006