New associate circuit judge for Butler County settles in behind bench

Being elected and now serving as Butler County’s newest associate circuit judge was a longtime aspiration for C. Wade Pierce.

“I always thought at some point, depending on how my law practice went, I might want to seek a position as associate circuit judge,” Pierce explained.

After graduating from the Oklahoma City University School of Law in May 1996, the Poplar Bluff native began practicing law at Swindle & Nunnery in Doniphan.

“Starting out living in Ripley County and working over there, I thought I might serve the community by a run for office there when Judge (James) Hall retired, but with the shift back to my hometown and home county in February 2000, obviously, this would be the place,” Pierce said.

For more than 18 years, Pierce practiced at the Duncan & Pierce law firm he formed with Wally Duncan.

“Wally would tell you, yes, for years I always said when Judge (John) Bloodworth retires, I’m running for his spot,” Pierce explained. “I made no secret about that. He knew that.”

Pierce said he didn’t have a “desire to be a judge just for the sake of being a judge.

“It was a combination of things. One is to serve the community, but it also was something that really interests me. I love the law.”

The law, he said, is about resolving disputes and applying the “basic tenets of fairness and justice … I always really enjoyed that side of it.”

Pierce said he also enjoys the researching and writing.

“It’s the reasoning part; it’s using logic and reasoning to arrive at a proper outcome based on the facts that I’ve always liked,” Pierce said. “I didn’t do a whole lot of it, but I always enjoyed appellate (work), the reading, the arguing, the coming up with reasons based on the law on why a particular outcome should hold.”

So much of what lawyers and judges do “has a broader impact than just the case we’re dealing with at the time,” Pierce said. “There’s a societal impact; sometimes there’s an economical impact …

“I think it is always important to see how that effects society at large, depending on the rule of law,” which is designed for that “very purpose.”

As judge, Pierce said, he has to deal with the facts as they are presented and the individuals involved, but “you also have to be mindful in a larger sense of impact that decision” will have going forward for others in similar situations.

Transiting from private practice wasn’t difficult for Pierce, he said, because “when someone came into my office to talk to me about an issue, not only was I listening to them and their set of facts … I’m asking questions about the other side of (the issue).

“Sometimes I would have to explain to people ‘I’m playing devil’s advocate here,’ but I have to analyze it from the other side. What are they going to say about this? What position are they taking?”

Pierce said he tried to analyze the “whole case, the whole set” of circumstances to “figure out what is a just and proper resolution for this person.”

Being judge is not that much different “except now I get to hear from both sides, and I get to weigh what they’re saying,” Pierce said.

As with any new job, Pierce said, there were a few learning curves.

Having practiced law for many years and serving as an assistant prosecutor, Pierce said, “I know the process, but I’ve never done this job, so, yes, there was a learning curve and a bit of a mind set change.”

Pierce said he learns “something every day as a judge, and I hope I do throughout the time I’m given in this job.”

Pierce’s duties include presiding over criminal and civil cases, as well as serving as juvenile judge, which “takes up a lot of time.”

As Division II judge, Pierce said, it is not just “all the initial criminal” filings and traffic cases, he also hears civil matters where less than $25,000 is in dispute and small claims.

When Pierce served as an assistant prosecutor, he said, the three prosecutors “rotated call, but in this position, as the associate circuit judge … I’m the first one law enforcement contacts for a search warrant, arrest warrant.

“ … So, I am always on call, which I don’t mind, but that is a bit of a difference.”

In private practice, Pierce said, he could chose to take a call.

“Here, I have to be available,” which is not a complaint, he said.

In fact, Pierce said, he has absolutely no regrets leaving private practice.

“I suspected I love/like this job, obviously, or I wouldn’t have run for it,” Pierce said. “ … It has surpassed my expectations.

“I like it more than I ever imagined I would. I thoroughly enjoy coming in here every day and the work I do and the people I work with. I couldn’t be happier.”

Pierce said he agrees with what Bloodworth told him about the court clerks’ abilities.

Circuit Clerk Cindi Bowman and her staff “have astounded and impressed me with how professional and efficient they are,” Pierce said. “He meant it, and I mean it; they are outstanding.

“They keep me organized; they keep me in line, and they don’t let me miss things, which is great.”

Since taking over, Pierce said, he has been “incredibly busy. All the time there is something to do.

“I have very little free time here, there’s something to review, sign (or) there’s an officer coming in … or I’m on the bench.”

As a lawyer, Pierce said, he might have had a “handful of cases” on any given day and he could “get in and out” of the courtroom.

As judge, Pierce said, juvenile court is held at 7 a.m. on two Tuesdays of each month.

There are such strict time requirements on juvenile cases, “sometimes I’ll be over there four out of five days,” Pierce said. “It may just be one case or two, but there is almost always something.”

Then, “I get here (Division II) in time to put on the black robe and walk out the door a few minutes after 9 (a.m.),” Pierce said. “I apologize (for being late) … (then) it’s jam packed, constant,” with only a short lunch break.

Pierce said he keeps the docket moving as “my time is not any more important than anyone else’s time in that courtroom, whether it is a lawyer, a litigant, a criminal defendant.”

Pierce said he has no intentions, “just because I have the ability to walk away … or call a recess because I have something personal (to do).”

“Sure my time is important, but it’s no more important than anybody else, and I intend to always be mindful of that,” he said.

Pierce said he finds himself emulating the things Bloodworth used to say and the way he did things in his courtroom.

“I was here for so many years … some of it is coming back to me,” he said.

For the most part, Pierce said, the things a judge says are scripted.

“We’re not just saying it; we want people to hear and understand,” he said. “… that is what due process is all about, making sure everyone understands what we’re doing, how we’re doing it and why we’re doing it.

“Otherwise, they can’t make informed decisions about what they want to do with their case.”

Due process, he said, is about fairness and being fair to everyone.

“We have to do that or people don’t respect the court system; they don’t respect the rulings coming out of the court system,” Pierce said.

As Pierce looks to the future, he said, he wants to take advantage of technology as much as possible.

“I’m working on that to make it easier, more efficient for filing charges on the weekend or search warrants, taking care of things for law enforcement needs on short notice,” Pierce explained. “That’s an important aspect of it, protecting the community.”