Why I Want To Be a Judge
As I meet more and more people in the course of my campaign, I am frequently asked about why I am doing this. Folks see the time and effort my supporters and I are putting into this race, and they naturally wonder what it is about being a Circuit Judge that would make me so determined to reach that position. I spent a good deal of time thinking about that question when people first started asking me to run clear back in 2011, and I continue thinking about it now. The answers are always the same.
The simplest answer has to do with the way I was raised. My parents always emphasized the need to do my absolute best at any task I started. In last week’s column, I mentioned that one of Dad’s favorite sayings was “any job worth doing is worth doing right”. Dad’s grammar may not have been the best, but the message he drilled into me was born of the tremendous work ethic he was taught by his father. He taught me to strive for the highest level in anything I did, and that is what I have done throughout my 35 years as a lawyer. It takes many, many years in the practice of law to gain the experience necessary to be a fair and effective judge. After three decades during which I served as chief counsel in more than 50 jury trials, I have finally gained the necessary experience. It’s only natural that I now seek to move into the highest level of my profession.
I have to confess that the other answer to the “why am I doing this” question is a bit more selfish. OK, maybe it’s a lot more selfish. If there is one thing I have learned in my 35 years of practice, it is that nothing is as personally and professionally satisfying as helping to change someone’s life for the better. I’m not talking here about the cases most lawyers see every day; I’m referring to the cases where our work has actually, significantly changed someone’s life. Let me give two examples.
Several years ago, I was prosecuting a case of alleged child abuse and neglect. The neglected child was a little blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy of around 6 years old. All you had to do was look into that little fella’s eyes, and you could see the potential in him. He was a bright little boy, but Mom rarely took him to school. He was full of life, but years of experience told me that he had no chance where he was. With a lot of time, effort, and commitment from everyone involved, and with a judge who truly understood the importance of these cases, we were able to get that little boy placed in a good home where he was eventually adopted. I will never forget the status hearing we had after the little guy was placed in a loving home shortly before Christmas. The hearing was over, and as he was leaving the Courtroom, the youngster turned, and with a beaming smile, shouted, “Merry Christmas, everybody!” There wasn’t a dry eye in the courtroom.
The other case involved a sexual predator who preyed on young girls who were near his family, generally step-children or nieces. He would begin abusing them when they were 4 or 5 years old, and would continue until they were 12 or 13 and old enough to understand the perversion they were being subjected to. The case began when one victim came forward, who led law enforcement to another, and then another. The victims were adults by then, in their late 20s and early 30s, each of whom had continued to live in fear of the day when they would again come face to face with their abuser. I prosecuted and convicted the pedophile, and I will never forget the looks on their faces as they sat in the courtroom, holding hands, as their abuser finally faced justice. After the judge handed down what amounted to a life sentence, we all hugged and we all cried.
So, what is consistent about those cases? It’s making a difference. It’s changing a person’s life. The young boy is now a happy child, making straight A’s in a home where he is loved. The women who were victimized as children are married, some with children of their own, able to live without looking over their shoulders. You see, nothing is as satisfying as making a real difference in someone’s life. Lawyers see such cases a few times in a career. A judge gets to work with them every week. More than anything else, that is why I want to be a judge. I want to make a difference.
