BERRYVILLE â Appearing before Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Carle F. Germelman Jr. was often a trial by fire for attorneys, particularly if they were unprepared.
âHe demanded that everybody know what was going on in the case and he was extremely intimidating, but he always got to the right decision,â attorney Suzanne âSuniâ Mackall said on Tuesday about Germelman, who died of an unspecified illness on Dec. 23 at 84. âHe was one of the best judges Iâve ever been in front of even though he was scary and hard-nosed [because] he was extremely fair and extremely compassionate.â
Presiding from 1968 to 2004, Germelman was the longest serving JDR judge in Virginia, according to his obituary. He presided over what is now the 26th Judicial Circuit covering Winchester and Harrisonburg, as well as Clarke, Frederick, Page, Rockingham, Shenandoah and Warren counties.