When Chief Judge Thomas D. Horne retired from the Loudoun County Circuit Court in December 2013, he had served longer than any other judge in the circuit.

Horne is a 1965 graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA, and a 1969 graduate of the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary.

For three years, from 1980 to 1982, he served as the county’s commonwealth’s attorney.  He first took the bench in 1982 and served for the next 31 years until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.

In addition to his long and distinguished history as a judge, Horne was a driving force in establishing and maintaining a landmark educational experience for young people considering a career in law, the 20th Judicial Circuit’s Law Camp.  There, students meet and interact with professionals in both classroom lecture and moot court environments.

A keen preservationist, he has worked diligently to protect and serve Loudoun County’s historic courthouse building in Leesburg.  He also serves on the Board of the Friends of the Thomas Balch Library.