Photos by Ringo H.W. Chiu | Special To The Roanoke Times

Judge Charles Carter Lee stands in front of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where the 1984 Summer Olympics' opening ceremony took place. In 1984 the Roanoke native was named envoy to China's Olympic team by the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee.

Judge Charles Carter Lee sits on the bench during a hearing at the court June 13, 2008 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Judge Charles Carter Lee retired this week. "I've had to exercise a lot of judgment in my career," he said. "Maybe that will be helpful [in Beijing]."

Two weeks ago, Roanoke native Charles Lee stood in front of a Beijing stadium, giving it the once-over.

In August, he will be inside that stadium, marching with the U.S. Olympic team in the opening ceremonies of the Summer Games.

"That's going to be a blast," Lee said in a phone interview. "I'm so looking forward to that."

Lee is not a runner, swimmer or gymnast, though.

In May, the U.S. Olympic Committee named him the U.S. team's Chef de Mission for the Beijing Olympics. Lee will serve as the head of the U.S. delegation, bringing any problems the athletes have to the attention of Beijing Olympic officials.

If the buses are running late, for example, Lee -- who speaks Chinese -- will be registering the complaints.

"I just want to do everything I can to make sure our athletes have their best opportunities to perform at their maximum levels," said Lee, 62, who is retiring from his position as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. "If there's problems, I'll be involved and do what I can."

He will also get to attend many Olympic events.

"It's going to be a lot of fun," he said. "It's going to be once in a lifetime -- once in a thousand lifetimes."

Noteworthy family tree

Charles Carter Lee grew up in Roanoke, the youngest of four children. His great-grandfather was Charles Carter Lee, the older brother of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

"When I was growing up, my father made a point of saying that who your ancestors are doesn't make you any better or any worse a person," Lee said.

The judge's late father, Henry, was a surgeon at hospitals in Roanoke and Rocky Mount. His late mother, Elizabeth, was a physician at then Hollins College. His late uncle, also named Charles Carter Lee, served as the commonwealth's attorney for Franklin County.

Lee graduated from Virginia Episcopal School, a Lynchburg boarding school, and Washington and Lee University.

Expecting to be drafted, he left the University of Virginia's law school in 1968 for a four-year stint in the U.S. Navy. He was stationed in the Philippines, and visited Taiwan and Hong Kong. He became interested in the Chinese language.

After his time in the Philippines, he was stationed in Coronado, Calif. He studied Mandarin Chinese at the Berlitz Language Center in Coronado. When he got out of the Navy, he spent two years studying Chinese at a university in Taiwan before resuming his studies at UVa.

"The Chinese culture's very interesting to me," he said.

After graduating from UVa's law school in 1976, Lee joined a law firm in Los Angeles. A secretary at the firm introduced him to the woman who would become his wife -- Miranda, who was born in China.

Gets to know Ueberroth

At the firm, he was assigned in 1979 to work on the bylaws of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee. He got to know Peter Ueberroth, then the president of the LAOOC and now the chairman of the USOC.

Five years later, Ueberroth -- aware that Lee, then a federal prosecutor, spoke Chinese -- named him the LAOOC's envoy to the Chinese Olympic team.

Lee headed up a delegation that Ueberroth sent to China in hopes of keeping that nation from joining the Soviet Union's boycott of the 1984 Olympics. During the Olympics, it was Lee's job as envoy to deal with the Chinese Chef de Mission -- a role reversal of the interactions he will have in August with the Chinese envoy to the U.S. team.

He watched the opening ceremonies from the stands that year.

Lee has kept in touch with Ueberroth over the years. Ueberroth knew he had given speeches in China in recent years on legal issues, and asked him in December if he would be interested in being the Chef de Mission. Lee met this spring with Steve Roush, the USOC chief of sport performance, and then received the approval of the USOC board of directors.

"He is fluent in Mandarin and is well-regarded by our Chinese counterparts," Roush said in an e-mail. "His ability to understand and work within the Chinese culture will make him a strong asset for the USOC.

"His true strength will be in strengthening our current relations with China for future collaborations."

Lee has been a judge in Los Angeles County Superior Court since 1989. Will his judicial background be helpful in his role as Chef de Mission, when he will be conferring with USOC and Beijing Olympic officials, and with his counterparts from other countries?

"I've had to exercise a lot of judgment in my career. Maybe that will be helpful," he said with a laugh.

Lee used to watch the TV show "Dragnet" when he was a kid. At the end of each episode, the criminals' fate in Los Angeles County Superior Court would be revealed.

"I had no idea that at some point in the future I would be sitting in the Los Angeles County Superior Court hearing criminal cases," he said. "It's an amazing thing."

Lee has also heard civil cases. He has been in the news for decisions involving the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the possible sale of the late Mary Pickford's Oscars; lawyer Debra Opri's attempt to collect from Larry Birkhead, her former client in the paternity case involving his child with the late Anna Nicole Smith; and a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of Natalee Holloway, the teenager who went missing in Aruba.

Lee, though, has decided to retire from the position he has held for almost 20 years. Wednesday was his final day at work, although his official retirement date isn't until July 15.

"I've handled all kinds of criminal cases and all kinds of civil cases. I've pretty much done about everything I can do," he said.

Lee will now have extra time before the Olympics to brush up on his Chinese.

"Mine's in pretty good shape, but I want to get it in even better shape," he said.

When he returns from the Olympics, Lee will likely stay busy by serving as a substitute judge for colleagues who are sick or on vacation.

Despite his lofty roles as a judge and Olympic official, his family still calls him Charlie.

Not Charles.

"He hasn't gotten that highfalutin yet," said older brother Bill Lee, who lives in Rocky Mount.

Visit to China

Lee has been to China more than 20 times; his first visit was in 1979. His latest was two weeks ago, after a 12-hour flight from Los Angeles.

Lee and Roush spent four days in Beijing. They struck a deal with a university there to serve as the training center for the U.S. athletes in the weeks leading up to the Summer Games, and arranged for a restaurant to be converted into the USOC's temporary headquarters. They also met with Beijing Olympic officials.

In addition to seeing National Stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies and track and field events will take place, Lee and Roush visited the Olympic swimming venue and the Olympic Village.

"The structures over there are really quite amazing," Lee said. "It is very exciting to see these things come together."

The International Olympic Committee and the USOC have expressed concern that the air pollution in Beijing could affect athletes' performances. But Lee said he didn't encounter much air pollution two weeks ago.

"I feel quite confident that they've got plans in place so that really won't be a problem," he said.

Lee said he expects the Summer Olympics to be tremendous. But China's poor record on human rights has led to protests of China's role as the host of the Summer Games.

"I think it's always a good thing for any country to have an Olympics because so many people come. So many people can see what's happening," Lee said. "You have to be open to an extent to have an Olympics, and I think this is going to be very good for China and very good for the world."

Lee's wife and three daughters will be in the stands for the opening ceremonies.

But he will be part of them.

"It's hard to believe," he said.