Lynda Hartsell is seeking Martinsville’s Commonwealth’s Attorney position in the November election.
She will face Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Patrick Flinn in the race. Commonwealth’s Attorney Andy Hall does not plan to seek reelection.
Hartsell, 61, began her law career six years ago with Martinsville’s Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office before moving to the Public Defender’s Office. She then started her own private practice — The Law Office of Lynda S. Hartsell, Esq., PLLC.
Since leaving the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Hartsell said she’s heard concerns from residents who feel the office is not securing enough convictions in court.
“Some of the victims’ families have been a little bit upset about some of the outcomes and plea agreements that have been established or gone through court, and they weren’t really happy about them,” she said.
While she doesn’t believe in mass prosecution or incarceration, Hartsell said if the office is going to go to court and take a case to a jury trial, it needs to ensure it’s winning those trials.
“They’re not doing that right now, and I don’t know why that is. I don’t know if it’s because the people that are in the office now are relatively new or what it is, but I think I can be better, and that’s why I want to run and win,” she said.
If elected, Hartsell said she wants to see better training for incoming police officers.
“So that when these cases are brought, whenever they bring charges against someone, that they know what they need to be doing out in the field. That the first line of defense is to make sure that they’re following whatever the constitutional law is and says what they have to go through to do searches and statements from defendants and things like that. I’d like to work with the police department so that they’re aware of what they need to be doing and any changes with the law, and just work with them to prepare them for court better,” she said.
While she knows Hall stated the office has had a quadrupling of jury trials, Hartsell said that’s due to changes in criminal justice laws in 2024.
“But I mean everybody’s doing that, and I don’t think everybody’s having the difficulty that we’re having here now. So, I would just like to see not just more prosecutions because of trying to round up more people or anything, I’d just like to see the people that are guilty go to jail,” she said.
Hartsell said she also wants to be more involved with the community.
“I don’t know how much involvement the office has had recently, I haven’t seen a lot, but I’d like to be more involved with the community and get the community input more than just as a victim-witness kind of thing,” she said.
If elected, Hartsell said she would also focus on listening to victims and what they want to happen.
“I know there’s been issues with victims in these cases where they will have had plea agreements that have gone through the court even though the victims and families have disagreed with the plea agreement. I would like to see if there’s a way that we can avoid that. I’d like to pay more attention to what victims are asking for,” Hartsell said.
While she knows there are times this won’t be possible, Hartsell added she believes it’s important.
Having worked with both the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and the Public Defender’s Office, Hartsell said she’s worked on both sides of the legal aisle.
“It gives you a deeper perspective of what you need to do as a prosecutor to win your case because you can anticipate better. If you’ve been a defense attorney, I think you can anticipate what the other side is going to do,” she said.
Before attending law school, Hartsell worked in real estate and insurance.
She graduated from the University of Richmond School of Law and interned with the Petersburg Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for two semesters while in law school.
