Grateful judge

Judges bear the weight of their rulings on their own, but the judicial system requires contributions from many.

When Judge Charles Todd Jr. sat behind the desk in his Superior Court 1 chambers and spoke about nearly 16 years on the bench, he expressed gratitude toward all those people — his colleagues and staff, the attorneys and jurors, security personnel and law enforcement, probation department and clerk’s staff, council and commissioners, IT and maintenance. And, he appreciated his supportive family.

“Everybody makes it possible,” Todd said.

Of course, gratitude works both ways, and the judge who retired from the bench Dec. 31 when his term expired receives it in return.

“Judge Todd’s retirement brings about a huge loss to the Wayne County judicial system,” said Superior 2 Judge Gregory Horn. “He is a model of trust, integrity, honesty, caring, compassion and adherence to the rule of law. He will be extremely missed. Like his predecessor, Tom Snow, he was more than a colleague; I consider him to be a great friend.”

Clerk Debbie Berry, who also left her job at year’s end, said that Todd would talk with her and others, providing good counsel.

“Judge Todd is a wonderful human being,” Berry said. “That’s what makes him a great judge.”

Unlike Berry, who faced a term limit, Todd could have sought reelection for a third time. He’s not jaded by the cases or indifferent toward a judge’s responsibility, but it’s all about time and timing. 

“I’m struggling to work the amount of hours that I think this job takes to work it properly,” Todd said. “What I find in my life, my professional life, to work this job properly is exhausting, the hours that that takes.”

Making the decision

When pondering another six-year term, Todd thought about serving another year or two. The governor appoints the replacement when a judge retires within a term; that’s how Todd received the bench in 2009. He decided on — and feels good about — stepping away at his term’s conclusion, making his retirement announcement during December 2023 and allowing potential replacements time to enter the primary election. Wayne County voters then chose who would serve them, electing Ron Moore.

Along with Todd, his court reporter, Rhonda Rohrer, a high school classmate and co-worker for about 28 years, also decided to leave Superior 1. 

“Rhonda and I have both talked about the fact that we don’t really look at this as a retirement so much as we do a new beginning, and so that’s kind of how I’m viewing it,” Todd said.

He plans to act as a senior judge — a former judge able to substitute for sitting judges — 30 days a year. Todd also provides sound equipment for events such as weddings, class reunions, graduations and parades, and he plays guitar in local band the Longshots.

Todd offered his gratitude to fellow band members Doug Glass, guitar; Jeff Sourbeer, guitar; Byron Kinsinger, bass; and Darren Collier, drums, for allowing him the mental release of playing old rock-and-roll music for the past five years.

“It’s a lot of fun, and I appreciate those guys letting me play along,” Todd said. “I’m the tag-a-longer, and they’re some pretty skilled dudes.”

Finding the law

Todd developed an interest in the law during mock courtroom lessons at Hagerstown High School. He followed a pre-law curriculum at Ball State University, graduating with a political science major and minors in marketing and economics. The plan was to take a couple of years, then attend law school.

“Two or three or four years became eight pretty quickly,” Todd said.

When he finally decided to attend Indiana University’s law school in Indianapolis, Todd was hired by Bob Chamness at the county probation department. Chamness and the sitting judges permitted Todd to adjust his hours to accommodate classes for four years before he graduated and earned admission to the bar in 1996. Chamness became a mentor.

“Bob was a first-class public servant, so he was a huge mentor,” Todd said.

After law school, Todd worked for Judge William Garrard on the Indiana Court of Appeals, then took over John Cutshaw’s law practice in Cambridge City. Todd was operating a successful practice when Superior 1 Judge Thomas Snow left to become chair of the Indiana Alcohol & Tobacco Commission.

“I was in practice in Cambridge for about a dozen years and some people had encouraged me to think about it,” Todd said about becoming a judge. “I always thought I had a pretty good ability to research and understand the law academically, and I always felt like I was a blue-collar Joe at heart, sort of speak, so I think trying to apply something that can be pretty intense legally to everyday situations, I thought that I might be decent at that.”

Appointed in 2009

Gov. Mitch Daniels appointed him in 2009 to replace Snow, who also served as a mentor. Todd finished about four years of Snow’s term, then was reelected in 2012 and 2018. Taking over in the middle of a term, Todd was out of sync with the state’s new judge training program, relying on Horn and Circuit Court Judge David Kolger for assistance and advice.

“I wore a path to their hallways when I started,” Todd said.

Wayne County judges handle a wide variety of criminal and civil cases, including family law, protective orders and collections.

“One of the advantages: it keeps you sharp, it keeps you moving, it keeps you alert, it keeps you working at understanding it, because people are relying on you to know it and give them a fair disposition,” Todd said. “You feel the weight of that, so you work hard to try to as much as you can make sure you’re properly prepared to deal with whatever area’s in front of you on that particular given day or week.”

Todd said judges must feel the importance of decisions, such as taking away people’s freedom or limiting contact with children, although the proper path becomes more clear in some cases. Deciding about issuing a few days in jail can be more difficult than sentencing an offender to decades in prison.

“I’ve struggled hard over decisions about giving a young offender a number of days,” Todd said. “Was it necessary? Is it enough to make the point that they hopefully turn a corner? That’s what you’re after.”

Jurors also face difficult decisions during trials. Todd expresses extra gratitude toward them.

“I really respect the jurors, because when you have those trials, they’re gut-wrenching, many of them are,” Todd said. “Then you get plucked out of your regular life and not given much of a choice and here you are doing your civic duty and the pay’s lousy and you do that job. I greatly appreciate the service those people give.”

Staff and family

When first beginning practice in Cambridge City, Todd asked Rohrer to leave Judge Douglas VanMiddlesworth’s staff and join him. She then moved with him to Superior 1. “What a force,” Todd said about her. “Just a great person.”

Sally Bartindale was bailiff and Melanie Chambers the court scheduler at that time. Liz Bane replaced Chambers during 2015, and during 2019, Shera Sorah replaced Bartindale, who retired after 45 years with the county.

“Personally, I think I’ve got the best team there is; I’ve been blessed with great, great people,” said Todd, who’s thankful there’s been little turnover. “I get a lot of credit for the good that’s done, and quite frankly, they deserve as much credit as I do for anything good that comes out of this office.”

Todd also feels special gratitude for his family.

He said wife Sandy is a huge supporter and “by far the best part of us.”

Daughters Hannah, Katelyn and Mekayla were in school when Todd became judge. Katelyn married Bradley Clark, and now Todd has a grandson, Jett, who will turn 2 in February. 

“They were always supportive and understanding of things,” Todd said. “They’ve been absolutely great.”

They might, however, enjoy having more of Todd’s time, because Todd said judges are never truly away. Even on family vacations, he’s working 20 or so hours, either before others are awake or after they’re asleep, putting in the time needed to do his job right.

Although many contribute throughout the judicial system, a judge also works alone.

“I have gratitude for the opportunity to serve,” Todd said. “It’s been a blessing to me.”