The typically staid Lynchburg Circuit Court was abuzz with activity and applause Tuesday as dozens of well-wishers and members of the legal community filled one of its courtrooms for a ceremonial swearing in of Lynchburg’s next commonwealth’s attorney.
Bethany Harrison promised to perform her duties as commonwealth’s attorney-elect, but the first official day of her four-year term in office will be Jan. 1, following the exit of Michael Doucette, who has served as the city’s top prosecutor for a dozen years.
She told the assembled audience, with local law enforcement leaders and other prosecutors from surrounding counties among them, that even as a child, her father imparted her with a call to serve.
