Pam Dudding Contributing writer
A Commonwealth Attorney is the title given to an elected prosecutor of felony crimes in Virginia.
Matthew Dunne is the new Commonwealth Attorney for Craig County.
Jordan Labiosa, Chairman of the Craig County GOP, said, “Matthew Dunne will exercise his power as Commonwealth Attorney with fairness, intensity and professionalism. Craig County is blessed to have Matthew in this office and the Republican Party of Craig County is proud to have nominated him for election in November.”
Dunne grew up in Roanoke County, and graduated from Cave Spring High School in 2000.
Dunne explained that he was inspired to go into this field of work in school. “In my high school AP US History Class, our teacher would have mock trials concerning various historical people and events,” he said. “I found the role of counsel exciting, and that first inspired me to go to law school.”
Dunne went to Virginia Tech and graduated in 2003. He completed his studies at the University of Virginia Law School in 2007.
“After graduating law school, I worked for a law firm in Harrisonburg doing civil litigation,” he said. “After a year or so, I moved back to Roanoke and started working at the Roanoke City Public Defenders Office and worked there for six years.”
In July of 2015, Dunne opened his own practice.
He moved to New Castle in August of 2017 with his wife, Lindsey and son, Matthew. “My wife and I are thrilled to be members of this community,” he said.
Dunne added, “Lindsey has been working as my assistant now for a number of years. She is originally from Patrick County, and has previous work experience as a probation officer and a CPS worker.”
In sharing why he chose to live in Craig County, he stated, “When I first went into private practice, my first court-appointed case was in Craig County. I loved coming up here for court. The country here is beautiful and the locals are very friendly and hospitable.”
Dunne can be reached via email at [email protected] or by contacting 540-864-5394.
“I have a number of years of experience in criminal law, and I will bring this experience to bear in faithfully and dutifully representing the citizens of Craig County,” Dunne said before adding, “I enjoy being of service to others and helping the community.”
