What does a judge wear under that robe and other questions were in my mind when I spent some time this past Wednesday with Superior Court No. 3 judge Joe Weber, who replaced longtime judge Steven Fleece.

I met Judge Weber a year ago last summer at the 4-H Fairgrounds. He and I seemed to have easy rapport from the start. I found him a very likable, affable, guy with a great sense of humor and humility about himself. He’s of a regular guy type. He is like me, a diminutive man in stature who probably knew early in life that brains over brawn and humor would be his ticket to success.

Judge Weber’s bio was interesting early on, when he told me he was not a lawyer until after he had been a town court judge in Clarksville for about 12 years. He was, among other things, a landscape architect. In his Clarksville court, he dealt mainly with misdemeanor infractions, traffic violations and ordinance issues. After obtaining his law degree, he then spent a few years practicing law and continuing as judge simultaneously.

Judge Weber is in his first year as the Honorable Judge presiding over the Clark Superior Court No. 3. “I tell people it’s my old job on steroids!” The offenses are generally a bit more serious in nature, involving class A misdemeanors and class D felonies.

“We’re the high-volume court,” as Weber described it.

He added that most of the people who enter his courtroom are not bad people.

He gets, “A high percentage of average people who have made an error that got them in trouble.”

One of his character traits as judge reflect the very nature of his personality as being what he describes himself as, “a people person.” He tries very hard to address the situation in a legally appropriate manner while trying to allow the defendants to retain their self respect and dignity.

As we walked around the courtroom, he told me that during breaks in the court session, he likes to come down from the bench to personally address the people lined up in orange jumpsuits. He often will simply converse in an unassuming and nonhreatening manner with them. He sees their face light up knowing that a judge would not have a demeaning attitude.

Much of his week is spent with administrative duties involving all the personnel and paper procedural aspects of running the court, a task that has required extra time lately given the mandatory 30 percent budget cuts coming down from the County Council.

His only comment regarding that for print was, “It’s a difficult situation. Everybody is doing the best they can to get through the year.”

There are always a stack of legal documents for him to read and study; pleadings, warrants, plea agreements, etc.

We discussed some hot topics among critics of the system, such as plea bargaining, which he points out is an essential aspect of modern day jurist prudence. Many people are first-time offenders and likely will never be in front of a judge again. With a clean record, some lenience often is warranted. Judge Weber also pointed out if all cases were tried, the court just could never handle the backlog of trials.  

What about the feeling that many people have that if you break the law, you deserve the harshest punishment.

“If there was no redemption for any of these people, we would have to throw up a fence around the whole county,” he said.

One thing he is positive about is that drugs and alcohol problems are the root of so many people who wind up in the legal system. You mix that with domestic instability in homes and the recipe to end up in his courtroom is almost complete.

“I think Drug Court is a good idea,” he said.

In the long run, it is cheaper and has been more successful than many other programs to combat the issues. People can complete the rehabilitation program and have some of their clean record restored.

That program is facing financial difficulties, but Weber assured me that it is still a cheaper alternative to “building new jails with revolving doors.”

I asked him if he ever has regrets or second thoughts about a decision.

“Occasionally, one of them will follow you off of the bench, you second guess yourself,” he said.

We further discussed the public’s overwhelming sentiment that people in court should receive tough penalties.

“Everybody’s philosophy is they want a criminal justice system to deal with offenses properly, unless it’s their family.”

It is common, regardless of the crime, that relatives and friends want the court to understand that their little “Johnny” is a good person and deserves a break. His intention is not whether to be severe or light in doling out the sentence, rather simply to be “just and appropriate.”

He never likes to second-guess or devalue a decision made by a jury, as he has observed the overwhelming majority of citizens who serve jury duty work very hard to make a right verdict.

He most likes to strive for redemption of young people. Judge Weber cites studies that show that around 90 percent of young boys will try drugs or alcohol while around 85 percent of young girls will at least attempt to shoplift. These are numbers I found astounding, but apparently coincide with peer pressure and wanting to fit in, which are part of the youth culture.

One change Weber has made in his court is to try and allow hearings to be held on the same day as plea agreements to save defendants from having to take another day from work.

The best thing about being a judge for Joe Weber is simply, “You don’t have to serve on a committee. You get to make your own mistakes.”

Seriously, although he admitted it sounds sappy, he most enjoys, “Working with people, helping people. Sometimes people come back and have straightened up their lives.”

The worst part of being a judge is, “Having to punish people, having to send people to jail knowing the impact on their life and their family. It’s appropriate, but it doesn’t feel good. If you ever get comfortable with that, it’s time to move on.”

Judge Weber is married to Lisa and has three sons, Duffy, 29; Mickey, 27; and Daniel, 11. When not doling out justice he said, “My wife watches a lot of those HGTV programs.”

They share time together working on house and yard projects. He also has a love of antique cars.

And about what he wears under that robe, “You couldn’t give away a dirty little secret like that!” Perhaps some judge’s decisions are best left kept in their private chambers.