Henry Hudson

Background

After numerous moves due to his father"s military postings, Whiting"s family moved in 1934 to Winchester, Virginia, where he was based the remainder of his life.

Education

He graduated from John Handley High School and attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute for one year before enlisting in the United States Army shortly after the outbreak of World World War World War II He attended Officer Candidate School (OCS), was commissioned and initially served as a trainer at OCS in Fort

Career

One of eight children born to Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Mason Whiting and Helen Hudson Whiting. Knox, Kentucky. In late 1944 he deployed to Europe as a first lieutenant in charge of a reconnaissance platoon.

He witnessed the end of the Battle of the Bulge after the tide had turned in favor of the Allies and also was present during the fight for the bridge at Remagen.

During the waning days of the war, he also briefly served as an observer on the staff of General Patton. After VE Day, Whiting served with the Army of Occupation in Europe until May 1946.

Upon his discharge, Whiting entered the University of Virginia and graduated from law school in 1949. He returned to Winchester and entered into the practice of law with J. Sloan Kuykendall, longtime Secretary of the Virginia Board of Law Examiners.

They were joined later by Lewis Costello and the firm, Kuykendall, Whiting and Costello became the largest law firm in Winchester.

Eventually the firm opened a branch office in Leesburg, Virginia. They had two children, Brian and John. After 31 years in private legal practice, Whiting was appointed in 1980 to the 26th Judicial Circuit of Virginia by Government.

John North. Dalton.

Whiting was later elected by the General Assembly to serve on the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1987 following the retirement of Justice George M. Cochran. A major ruling unanimously handed down by the Virginia Supreme Court during Whiting"s tenure was Timothy West. Spencer v Commonwealth, which was the first state supreme court ruling on the admissibility of deoxyribonucleic acid profiling. The Court"s ruling on the admissibility of deoxyribonucleic acid evidence was later upheld at the federal appeals level and by the United States Supreme Court.

Whiting served on the Court until he stepped down to Senior (semi-retired) status in 1995.

Justice Whiting continued to serve the Court as a Senior Justice until 2002. During his tenure, Justice Whiting authored 235 opinions for the Court.

To honor his service, the Supreme Court of Virginia convened a special session in Winchester, its first ever there, on July 17, 2002. On January 30, 2009, his portrait was presented to the Frederick-Winchester Judicial Center in a special ceremony sponsored by the Frederick Winchester Bar Association.

Views

During this time, he acted as counsel defending minor courts-martial cases and there developed a strong, lifelong interest in the law.

Membership

He was editor of the Law Review, first in his class and was elected as a member of The Order of the Coif and the Raven Society. He was the first member of the Supreme Court of Virginia from the Winchester-Frederick County area in over 100 years.

Connections

Friend:

George South. Patton