There’s no reason for this case to be sent to the jury.
The verdict is in and it’s been a distinguished legal career for Bill Locke, who has been elected to two of the most respected positions in Warren County – District Attorney and General Sessions Judge.
Locke is heading down the home stretch of a 37-year career that began when he passed the bar and opened a private law practice here in the early 1980s. Highlights include being elected to serve as District Attorney General from 1990 to 1998.
Over a decade after finishing that term, Locke was appointed in January 2012 by the Warren County Commission to serve as General Sessions Judge after Larry Ross retired and he was elected to the position in 2014.
Now 66, Locke decided last year not to seek reelection and to retire when his term ends in August.
“I probably could have done this for a couple more years, but an eight-year term is an awfully big commitment,” said Locke. “I didn’t feel like it would be right to ask people to vote for me knowing I wasn’t going to fulfill my whole eight years. My dad taught me to finish what I start, so I’ll be here till midnight on Aug. 31 to finish this term completely.”
Warren County is a much different community than when Locke first started practicing law and when he first landed a job as Assistant District Attorney in 1985.
“So much of society has changed. Schools have changed,” said Locke, who also serves as Juvenile Court Judge. “People don’t have a lot of respect for anybody nowadays, including themselves. One constant has always been drugs. In the 1990s, it was crack cocaine. Now it’s turned into meth and it’s not just here. It’s everywhere. Meth cases are on every docket I hear. People get on probation and then lose custody of their children because they can’t stay off meth. Drugs are a problem today because there’s still a demand. That’s why people continue selling and using.”
Locke says working with juveniles has given him his greatest opportunity to make an impact. He says programs like Kids of the Community provide local children and teens with resources to help them overcome difficult situations.
“Kids of the Community started in a back room here at the courthouse because Larry Ross and Barry Dishman wanted to take some kids to the fair,” said Locke. “Juvenile Court is probably the most important thing I do and Kids of the Community gives the court system a chance to be proactive instead of reactive. We try to get the kids to understand there are better ways to have a life and we point them in the right direction.”
When asked about seeing the same people come before him for the same crimes, Locke said being a judge can certainly test your patience. He said there are success cases mixed in with those who reoffend.
“I’ve had a lot of people who will see me out and they’ll thank me,” said Locke. “They’ve been to rehab and they’ve turned their life around and they will thank me for helping them. Then I think about some cases and I wonder if I could have done more. It comes down to them getting to the point where they want to make a change. Until they are ready to get turned around, it won’t happen.”
Locke says a big aspect of being an effective judge is realizing every case is different and making rulings based on common sense. He says he has always operated within the parameters of the law, but there is usually leeway given for the judge to act appropriately.
“I’m a lot better judge today than I was 11 years ago and I’m still learning every day,” said Locke. “Then when you get a bunch of experience built up it’s time to retire.”
Judge Locke says he isn’t ruling out doing some work after he retires from the bench, but a hectic schedule is not what he has in mind.
“I might not want to hang out a shingle and come in five days a week, but I still might do a little legal work part time,” said Locke, who will probably find more time for golf and watching the Tennessee Vols and Tennessee Titans.
