Lexington Native Was Member Of First SVU Graduating Class
Hayes Larsen, a native of Lexington, has been appointed as the Chief Trial Judge of the Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary. In this role, he oversees all activeduty and reserve military judges who preside over courts-martial across the Navy and Marine Corps.
A 1993 graduate of Rockbridge County High School, Larsen served a church mission in Venezuela and later graduated from Southern Virginia University in 2000 as part of its first graduating class. He earned his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2003 and was commissioned into the Navy’s Judge Advocate General Corps.
Larsen previously served as a military trial judge and as a judge in the Office of Military Commissions, where he oversaw certain detainee cases at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Most recently, he was the Commanding Officer of Defense Service Office West, leading defense counsel services across the western United States and Pacific region.
A veteran of the Iraq War, Larsen has held multiple leadership and litigation roles during his 20-year Navy career. He and his wife Celeste, a counselor for military children, currently reside in Coronado, California, and are the proud parents of three.
