A Lovingston-based defense attorney announced Monday his plans to run for Nelson County Commonwealth’s Attorney in the 2011 election.
Daniel Rutherford, 27, of Faber, said he has been interested in running for the top prosecution position in the county since early this year.
“I’ve really been talking with individuals and hearing what some were looking for in a commonwealth’s attorney,” Rutherford said. “After talking about it, I really thought that it would be a good thing to do.”
Anthony Martin, an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Amherst County, announced his plans to run for the position in October.
The current commonwealth’s attorney, Phil Payne IV, has not officially announced whether he would seek another term.
Rutherford is a native of Nelson County and grew up in Shipman. He graduated from the University of Virginia and Regent University School of Law.
Rutherford began his private practice law firm in Lovingston in 2007. He is also in the Army Reserves and is an officer in the Army Judge Advocate General Reserve Component.
His main assignment as a judge advocate, Rutherford said, is to “defend those who defend our country.”
“I would like to go from serving my country to serving my community and I think being commonwealth’s attorney would allow me to do that,” he said.
In the past three years, Rutherford said he has had a chance to handle many “complex criminal matters” that include cases of attempted robbery, attempted murder, rape and crimes of violence against children and the elderly.
“I am fairly young for being a lawyer, but age is nothing but a number and I just choose to not let my age affect anything,” he said.
Rutherford said one of his goals, if elected, would be to “seek justice in the criminal cases.”
“Seeking justice is a lot more than winning a case,” he said. “It’s making sure that criminals, or perpetrators, face consequences and that victims are treated with dignity and respect.”
Another goal Rutherford said he has is to build a better relationship between the commonwealth’s attorney’s office and local law enforcement.
“The prosecutor must realize that he has to be part of the law enforcement chain,” he said. “I want to be available to the officers and be able to give them updates when it comes to changes in the laws.”
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