passes down gavel to an old friend
Ripley County’s Judge Swindle retires
As he steps down from the bench this month, retiring Ripley County Associate Circuit Judge David Swindle may hope to lay down his gavel in favor of a fishing pole.
Before swearing in county officials Wednesday, Dec. 28, Swindle was heard making tentative plans with friends about fishing on Bull Shoals and wintering in Lake Okeechobee, Florida. He talked about his retirement in the simplest of terms.
“I’ve spent over 40 years in the law business. I hope this will allow me more time to spend with my wife, Angie, and our children,” he said.
The family includes Amanda (Mark) Howard; Ryan (Kacey) Swindle; Tyler (Keila) Swindle; Chelsea Swindle (Donnie Jones) and Zack (Jess) Swindle; and 11 grandkids.
“It will be nice that we have time to do some of the things we’ve wanted to do,” he said.
Swindle says he feels good about what he accomplished in his 16 years as judge.
“I have enjoyed being a public servant and consider it an honor and a privilege to have served the people of Ripley County,” he says.
The job obviously has its ups and downs, but Swindle says his most gratifying moments came from being involved with juvenile court.
“Juvenile court gave me the opportunity to work with troubled kids and their families. I did my best to try and shape their lives and help them find stability.
“Mostly, I tried to show them what every one wants, which is love,” says Swindle.
He remembers, “Some years ago Pam Stark, the juvenile officer, and I had truancy court. We had a lot of troubled youth who came through that program.
“These kids were missing as many as 80 to 100 days a school term, and their grades were bad. We were able to turn some of them around.
He remembers, “Their grades came up and we had three or four who showed such improvement they were named students of the month.
“It was a team effort for all of us, Pam and myself and school officials,” he says, adding, “Those were really proud moments.”
By contrast, he says he felt the weight of his office most heavily when dealing with criminal cases involving drug abuse.
“Sadly, our state has not had the wherewithal to try to help people addicted to substances and abusing alcohol,” says Swindle.
He says he has seen a definite worsening of substance abuse in our county.
“There was a time when you would see two people in court who were impaired. Now, every Wednesday morning there are five to seven who walk up to the bench under the influence of something,” says Swindle.
He says, “I wish we could help by getting them into some kind of mandated treatment. It would have to be mandated, because they won’t go on their own volition.”
Swindle has been hosting drug court for adults to try and help offenders with their dependency issues.
He says he has lost count of how many graduates there have been. “Some of them make it and some don’t even get to the point of graduating,” he says.
The courses generally last up to 18 months, but Swindle says he doesn’t set time limits.
“It’s like making spaghetti sauce. Some need more time, so we keep them as long as we need to,” says Swindle.
He might feel he remained judge as long as he needed to. However, Swindle says he is ready to hand down that title to attorney Devin Kirby.
“Devin has been a fine lawyer, and he will make a fine judge. I don’t have any worries that he will serve the people of Ripley County well,” said Swindle.
The two have been longtime friends, and Kirby once worked with him at Swindle & Nunnery, the practice he shared with Dale Nunnery.
Both the retiring judge and his successor are “home grown,” lifetime residents of Doniphan and love the community.
Swindle graduated from Doniphan High School and left the area only to attend college. He graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 1978, and went on to law school at Northern Kentucky University.
He came back home to start his law practice in 1983 and was elected associate circuit judge in 2006. He has served in that capacity since 2007.