[cynwoody]

Magistrate. Big difference in Virginia.

Thanks.

I had seen him characterized as a US magistrate, but I'm pretty sure he was actually a Virginia Supreme Court magistrate, apparently the lowest level of the Virginia state court system.

George's mother, Gladys Cristina Zimmerman, was a deputy court clerk and worked as a translator at the Prince William County Courthouse in Manassas and also performed civil marriages in Spanish.

[PhatHead]

It may also be worth noting (as I think you did above) that he was a magistrate for only six years.

It has also been reported that he "is a retired military man. He could be strict." I think the combination of these two things suggests a) Robert Zimmerman does not have a lifelong network of legal connections, and b) he doesn't fit the profile of a guy who'd pull strings.