EDITORIAL: Farewell to Judge Roberts
Our hearty farewell and wishes for a happy retirement go out to Judge John Roberts, who for the past 20 years has tirelessly given of his time and talents as judge of the Waco Municipal Court.
The good judge retires Jan. 31. He and wife Kay, a court reporter, plan to see all they can of America, at last uninhibited by a backlog of court cases, a clogged judicial system and an endless parade of arrestees.
As a municipal judge, it’s fair to say that Judge Roberts didn’t have the sexiest of cases during his two decades on the bench.
He primarily adjudicated those with Class C misdemeanors — speeding and parking offenders, truant teens and those charged with fighting in school and homeowners who refused to cut weeds or meet building codes.
Despite the mundane nature of the cases, Judge Roberts met each head-on and adjudicated with an even-handed approach to justice, overseeing the daily nuts and bolts of a full docket to keep our system running.
He did have the occasional, memorable tale from the bench, including the ticketed motorist who claimed the Earth’s constant rotation would not have allowed her car to be illegally parked in a certain spot; and the man charged with public intoxication who, according to a police officer, had “glassy” and bloodshot eyes upon arrest. When the defendant literally put his glass eye on the table, Roberts dismissed the case.
He described most of his cases as “entry-level into the criminal justice system,” and he told the Trib that “most people don’t go beyond municipal court.”
That’s a credit to his court, which has gotten the word out to folks to follow the law and stay out of trouble.
Summing up his years on the bench, Roberts lamented that lately more students seem to end up in court on criminal charges for incidents that, he said, “I would have gone to the assistant principal’s office for.”
This clogs the system and has caused his heavy work weeks, which have included no holidays off and daily visits to the jail.
So take a much-needed rest, judge.
And happy trails.
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