8/15/2009 8:00:00 AM
Morton retired: Have garden, will travel
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BY SARAH O. WILSON
Publisher, The Sentinel
After 30 years as judge of Fulton Circuit Court, a retired Doug Morton is finding time for himself these days, and it usually includes his grandchildren, gardens, golf game or some judicial assignments.
His new life seems to please him.
Morton, 63, took the bench on Jan. 1, 1979, and chose to end his career after three decades of deciding "disputes between individuals." A. Christopher Lee succeeded him Jan. 1.
Morton continues to serve the state as a senior judge, which he describes as somewhat like a substitute teacher. He needs to serve at least 30 days a year to receive state health insurance. He also continues the special judge assignments he received before retirement and serves as a hearing officer at the behest of the state Supreme Court.
"I have elected not to go back into private practice," he said. "I've been gone (from that situation) 30 years. That's a long time."
If called upon, he could mediate legal disputes. He explained that the goal in any dispute is to settle matters outside of the courtroom; inside "the loser loses more than the winner wins," he said.
Morton and his wife, Lois, who retired in June as a Rochester schools math instructional assistant, have three children and six grandchildren. "I've been Grandpa a lot better" since retirement, Morton said.
Son Christopher, 38, and his wife, the former Kim Kirby of the Tiosa area, live in South Bend with their two daughters - Abigayle, a fifth-grader, and Makenzie, a second-grader. Christopher works in quality control for Press Ganey, which, according to its Web site, provides patient satisfaction surveys, management reports and national comparative databases for the integrated health care delivery system. Woodlawn Hospital uses their services, Morton said. Kim is a teaching assistant with South Bend elementary schools.
Son Robert, 35, and his wife, the former Christi Wylie from Terre Haute, live in Indianapolis with their three children - son Wylie, a fourth-grader in the Ben Davis school system; Mary Sue, a kindergartner; and daughter Bailey, 3. Rob, an engineer, is a project manager for Bowen Engineering Co., working on water treatment plants. Christi, a former special education teacher, is staying home with their children.
Daughter Katie and her husband, Matthew Brubaker, live in Orlando, Fla., with son Micah, who was born Feb. 28. Katie, an attorney, is an in-house counsel for Campus Crusade for Christ. Matt also works for CCC, as a production coordinator.
Their parents now have "a little bit of freedom" to do as they wish, Morton said this week before heading off to South Bend for a Silverhawks game with the kids. "I work a day or a day and a half a week on average," he said.
Morton's landscape gardens were on this summer's Master Gardener tour of homes. "I'm a cottage gardener," he said. "I've got a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff." Quite a bit of it was killed or damaged during last winter's frigid temperatures, so he spent hours preparing for the tour.
His volunteer efforts include serving on the newly established Woodlawn Foundation to benefit Woodlawn Hospital, Friends of the Fulton County Parks and Rotary Club.
He is working on his golf game. "It doesn't show yet," he said. He plays two or three times a week.
Morton described his role on the bench by quoting Thomas Jefferson: The art of judging is deciding between right and right. "People who litigate think they are right," Morton said.
There were challenges over the years, he said, but "routinely, day after day, (child) custody cases were difficult. You never have enough information. You are just trying to predict the future.
"If there were cases that kept me up at night, and there weren't many, it would be custody cases."
He professes no regrets about any of his decisions. "You work hard, decide the case right, and I did, and that's how you can sleep at night."
Morton said the judiciary experienced numerous changes throughout his career. Among them:
• "Computers changed everything. The sheer volume of work you can do." Communication between everybody, including the Supreme Court, is substantially improved. "Having computers allows you to spend more time judging and less time on administration."
• The creation of a Fulton Superior Court in 1993 took some pressure off Circuit Court. For example, felonies, not traffic-related, now are divided between the two courts. Circuit Court still has all juvenile cases.
• The addition of public defenders. "Instead of judges calling and asking a local attorney to take a case, we have a professional probation staff. I (was) very proud to be associated with the staff there. They are a marvelous set of people."
• A rise in self-representation. "Two-thirds of the (150 to 160) dissolutions (per year) don't have lawyers representing them. If it (the divorce settlement) is agreed to, it's OK, and I (could) help them make it legal. If it is not agreed to, they leave the courtroom and are not divorced."
• Fewer jury trials. Between 1979 and 1995, Morton averaged 16 jury trials a year and four to six of those were civil cases. More civil cases are resolved before trial, "probably" due to mediation.
• Gender balance. "When I took the bench, there were only two female judges statewide. Now more than 25 percent of the state judiciary is female. That truly has changed, big change."
Some of his memories:
• Murder trials. Larry Williams' was his first one, in 1980. "The first one is the most memorable." He said he handled four murder trials and another nine or 10 pleas during his career. Williams, 21, of Plymouth was convicted by a 12-person jury May 9, 1980, of murder in connection with the death of Claude Yarian, a Bourbon store owner, on March 6, 1979. Morton sentenced him to 130 years in prison, which the Indiana Supreme Court ordered him to modify to 110 years to do away with a 20-year sentence imposed for armed robbery.
• His shortest jury trial lasted one day. "We seated the jury, heard evidence and took a verdict before 3."
• His longest sequence of jury work lasted almost three months in 1994, with a six-week trial "right on top of" a five-week trial.
• The Caston earring case. "That was closer than people thought. The legal issues are right from the Bill of Rights, the Ninth Amendment, which speaks to personal appearance. It doesn't specifically say that, but the Supreme Court has taken it there." The trial was "high profile," he said. In 1991, Jimmy Hines, then a fourth-grader at Caston schools, wore a stud earring to school. When Caston instituted a ban on such behavior by elementary students in 1992, Hines continued to wear the earring, and Caston threatened his expulsion for doing so. The Indiana Civil Liberties Union sued on his behalf. On Sept. 30, 1993, Morton ruled Caston could impose a dress code based on "community standards" that bans earrings on boys. ICLU argued that Hines had a right to self-expression and individual identity. In February 1996, the Supreme Court accepted transfer, heard oral arguments and refused transfer of the Indiana Court of Appeals decision, which upheld Morton's decision.
Throughout his career, Morton took the time to comment and encourage the Fulton County community to improve. For example, he was instrumental when the Court Appointed Special Advocate program came to Fulton County in 1990, he was an early proponent of a county park board and he wrote detailed descriptions for The Sentinel of the statewide judges who were up for election.
He said he always thought his public involvement "went with the territory."
CASA's success brings him satisfaction. "To have quality people come in and help kids, invest in kids, I've been very pleased with the way that works," he said.
Reflecting upon his 30 years on the bench, Morton said he wants his epitaph to read: "He did the best he could."
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