16 | June 2009 <strong>Community</strong> Impact Newspaper • Georgetown/Hutto/Taylor Edition <strong>Community</strong> Profile Justice of the Peace, Precincts Three and Four Interviews by Suzanne Haberman How do you describe your job? The main [responsibility], of course, is taking care of Class C misdemeanors. Class C includes traffic, truancy cases, civil and small claims and justice court cases with a monetary limit up to $10,000. We do an occasional wedding. It’s something we can do if we feel like doing, if it doesn’t interfere with our core duties. We do death inquests. We’re on call 24 hours a day for our precinct. Any unattended death anywhere in my precinct, I get called out and pronounce the person dead, do the paperwork, get an autopsy if I feel like it’s needed, determine the cause of death and get the certificate. We cover truancy, sign warrants — felony and misdemeanor — for law enforcement agencies in the county. I think last year I signed something like 2,800 warrants. That’s a lot more than I want to. [I also set] bonds for the warrants, work with the District Attorney’s office, the county attorney’s office and, of course, the other judges, too. Judge Judy Schier Hobbs Precinct Four Education: Graduated from Taylor High School, attended Arlington State University, now UT-Arlington, logged 650 hours continuing <strong>education</strong> Experience: Family-owned bookkeeping business, mother and wife Took office: May 1982 Contact: 352-4155 • www.wilco.org THE LEADING REIN Why did you want to be a judge? I’ve got about 26 years in law enforcement as a state trooper, deputy sheriff and detective in the Georgetown Police Department. It was kind of like a stepping stone going from that. The older I got, the quieter I wanted my life to be. I had looked at this particular position for 30 years. I visited with the past judges, including Jim Bitz. When it got time, he decided he was going to retire, he called me over to his office at the old court house one day and he asked me if I would be interested. [Benton was appointed to office when Jim Bitz retired and was later elected.] How many cases do you preside over a year? When I first got in — it went from 750,000 to 800,000. Last year, I think we booked in something like 2.4 million. I would, probably back when I first started, be in court two and a half days a week, maybe three. Right now I’m in court five days a week. What is your job as Justice of the Peace? My big one right now is fail-to-attendschool cases. It is a Class C misdemeanor, and it is for children who miss school. If we can change the attendance behavior of this child, we all benefit, especially that child and that family in our community. We do traffic tickets. It isn’t just the straight speeding ticket or stop sign violation. In our county we have a heavy contingency of trucks, so we have licensing and weigh officers in our precinct. We also do parks and wildlife, so we handle all the parks and wildlife cases. In Williamson County, your JPs act as coroners, so we do inquest or any unattended death. Then we have civil cases, small claims cases. It’s any type of money issue that [people] feel they have been wronged on. Justice civil, that’s the other civil docket in justice court. Both can go to $10,000. All of your septic system and health department violations come through here. We do all of the cosmetology-type [violations]. Agriculture 10% OFF 15% OFF 20% OFF What is a common misconception? We’re mean. We’re trying to put everyone in jail. That’s the last thing I want. Will I put you in jail because you mess up? If you mess up, yes, I will, but I’ll do everything I can to keep you out of jail first. I have complaints that, “Well, you’re creating the law.” No, I’m enforcing the law. People think I can do anything I want, because [I’m] the judge. No, I don’t. I don’t want that power. I guarantee that I’m not going to abuse it. What characteristics are the most important for a judge to possess? Just be honest and fair. That’s the bottom line. Honest and fair and treat people the way I want to be treated. Be compassionate. Sometimes I get too compassionate and I almost cry in court. [I think about] my Rotary creed: Is it truth? Will it build goodwill and better friendships and is it fair to all concerned and will it be beneficial to all concerned? Everything I do pretty much ties into that. violations come through justice court. Towing hearings. Property hearings. If you have stolen property, then it’s our job to determine who gets it back. The other hearings we have are animal cruelty cases. All the traffic from the toll road that’s in precinct four comes through here. Those cases are to be filed here starting in July. We do weddings. I think I did 40-something weddings last year. Why did you want to be a judge? I really didn’t. In 1981, there was a group of citizens here in Taylor that came and asked me to run. The last Sunday before the filing deadline, my preacher did a sermon on public service. So the following Monday my dad and I went and I filed. What’s the most interesting case you’ve presided over? Years ago there was a law that said you couldn’t sell certain items on Sunday, and there was a challenge to that law. They bought a fly swatter and an ice tray Judge Steve Benton Precinct Three Education: Bachelor’s degree in studio art from Southwestern University Experience: State trooper, deputy sheriff, officer, detective, real estate, gallery and frame shop owner Took office: January 2000 Contact: 943-1501 • www.wilco.org on Sunday. That case was filed, a Class C, filed in my court. They were doing it to test the law. The jury came back and found the person not guilty. That case was part of the example [state legislators] used when they changed the law. What’s the hardest part of your job? When you have to tell someone … that you’re taking his or her license. Or when I do an eviction of a single mom with five kids, and you tell them they have to get out. You have to do it because that’s what the law is, but it doesn’t keep from squeezing your heart a whole bunch. Being a licensed attorney is not a requirement for being a Justice of the Peace. Should this be changed? No. It’s a peoples’ court. We’re out in the community. We’re accessible to the people. My name is in the phone book. I shop in the grocery store where my constituents shop. I go to church where they go to church. I’m involved with my community.
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