Prosecutor with law license suspensions remains on job

Actions occurred before his start in Portsmouth; Morales ‘could not be more pleased’ with hire

Over the past year, Portsmouth prosecutor Matthew Morris has had his law license suspended three times, been found in contempt for twice walking into a courthouse with a gun in his briefcase, and was barred from appearing in criminal cases in Virginia Beach after showing up hours late for a hearing and making troubling statements to the judge.

The actions that led to the various disciplinary actions against Morris occurred before he was hired by the Portsmouth commonwealth’s attorney’s office, and the first two suspensions of his law license were short and for mundane reasons, like not paying his Virginia State Bar dues and failing to meet a requirement for continuing legal education.

The third case, however, was more serious. It involved sending a series of threatening texts to a former client, according to bar documents. The suspension in that instance was for six months and is set to begin April 24.

And while the second suspension was only for unpaid bar dues, Morris hadn’t seen the notice informing him of the action and continued to handle dozens of cases at the Portsmouth courthouse over a four-week period before he became aware of what had happened, paid the dues and late fees, and got his license reinstated, the documents said.

Morris was working as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney for the city of Portsmouth at the time, having been hired by Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Morales a couple months before.

After coming out as gay, Hampton University cornerback Byron Perkins is balancing sport and celebrity.

Sports

Sixteen young Ukrainians beat obstacles to perform at the Virginia International Tattoo.

Sunday Break

High: 84 Low: 59

Details on the back page of news

After driving an hour from her home on the Eastern Shore for a doctor appointment, Adrianna Pruitt waited in an exam room.

The 21-year-old would soon be catching up with a doctor she knows well at The Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters clinic in Virginia Beach. Dr. Marta Satin-Smith, 62, has been treating Pruitt since diagnosing her with diabetes when she was 2.

“It’s not even talking to the doctor, it’s like you’re talking to your family member or friend,” Pruitt said.

Now, after spending her entire 27-year career at CHKD, SatinSmith is about to retire.

“I’ve been telling them, my group, that I’m going to retire for over a year,” Satin-Smith said. “They haven’t found a replacement for me.”

The shortage of non-primary care specialty physicians was estimated to grow to between 33,700 to 86,700 by 2033, according to a June 2020 report by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

However, the most recent data from a 2021 AAMP report found supply of specialists was growing rapidly but still not keeping pace with the present demand.

In 2016, there were just under 68,500 active pediatric specialists including 9,600 subspecialists such as rheumatologists, anesthesiologists, cardiologists and oncologists, according to a 2022 report by the AAMC. Five years later, there were almost 72,100 active pediatric specialists including 11,789 subspecialists, according to the report.

With the average age increase though, the demand for pediatric specialties is expected to slow and interest in pediatric/internal medicine subspecialties is on the rise, according to the 2020 AAMP report.