Judge James Horton
Posted by: Trey Pettlon
December 12, 2007
Topic: Judge James Horton
At her swearing in ceremony as District Court Judge for the 10th Judicial District of Johnson County, Kansas, my close friend Sara Welch told an inspirational story about the short career of the best judge you've never heard of.
In 1931, nine young black men were accused of raping two young white women on a freight train in Northeast Alabama. Just twelve days after the alleged rape, all 9 men were convicted in a court in Scottsboro, Alabama. Eight of the men were sentenced to death and a mistrial was declared in the case of the ninth man. He was a 13 year old boy and despite the fact that the prosecutor had asked for life in prison, a majority of the jury insisted on the death penalty.
The convictions were upheld by the Alabama Supreme Court, but later reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court on the ground that the defendants were denied their right to counsel. The press and public sentiment was so inflammatory that the case was moved to Decatur, Alabama for this new trial and reassigned to Judge James E. Horton.
One of the defendants was a young man named Haywood Patterson. He was ordered to stand trial first. Haywood's re-trial began in March of 1933. Judge Horton had just been re-elected to the bench without opposition in 1928. The proceedings in Haywood Patterson's re-trial were reported daily throughout the country and even reported internationally. The trial was tense and at times disorderly. Of course, the mere fact that a white woman would have her credibility challenged by a black defendant in court would by itself enrage a great segment of the population at the time. The Sheriff and the National Guard were summoned to protect the defendants. Public hostility and threats of violence against the defendants and their attorney became so intense that Judge Horton had to address the crowd outside the hearing of the jury. The all-white jury convicted Haywood and sentenced him to death. However, in a move that predictably caused public outroar and ultimately was a career-ending decision, Judge Horton set aside the conviction because the State's evidence was uncorroborated, contradictory and created a great deal of doubt.
Judge Horton was vilified in the state press for his decision. In the next election, two opponents ran against Judge Horton and he was soundly defeated. Thus ended the short judicial career of Judge James E. Horton. Judge Horton quietly lived out the rest of his life with a general law practice and farming.
Epilogue
In some ways, Judge Horton's selfless decision may seem to have been a fruitless effort. Eventually the Scottboro Boys were re-tried and convicted. But I don't think Judge Horton's efforts were fruitless. Haywood's life was spared. He received a life sentence. The Alabama legal system's jury selection system was reformed, and there are judges even today that are inspired by his difficult decision and his self-sacrifice.
The election of judges is a popular cause at the time of this writing. It is oftentimes advocated by religious right groups that claim that they want more accountability from the judiciary... meaning they want to be able to remove a judge from the bench who is making bad decisions. Cynics argue that the real basis for support for a system of electing judges is not to oust incompetent judges, but to find judges who share the same political ideology as the electorate. For example, questionnaires are being sent to State Court Judges in this area that inquire as to whether the Judge believes that abortion should be legal or illegal.
Would you feel comfortable having your case decided by a judge who received financial contributions from the other attorney, but not yours? What if you found out that your attorney actually supported the judge's opponent in the judicial election? Would you want to know that before you hired your attorney?
As someone who is in court all over Kansas City about five days a week, I have certainly seen a lot of decisions by judges with which I have agreed and disagreed. We all read in the paper about a particular case where a judge gave probation to someone who, at least from the information published in the article, did not seem to deserve probation. Oftentimes I see cases where I believe the sentence is way too harsh...particularly in cases involving illegal drugs. Disagreement is inevitable no matter what the manner is of selecting judges. Still I can honestly say that the judges that I see regularly in Clay, Platte, Jackson, Wyandotte, Johnson and Miami Counties with very few exceptions are caring, intelligent, thoughtful judges who listen to the evidence and do the right thing in accordance with the law...they really are the best of the bar.
Judges in Wyandotte County are elected, and in fairness, they have an excellent bench. Part of that may be due to the efforts of all the Wyandotte County bar, which may be the closest bar association in Kansas City. The attorneys who are in court actively get the word out about the best judicial candidates. Still, I worry about the judges in Wyandotte County because they are as good as there are anywhere...but they have to run for election. They have pressures that I don't think judges should face. In the wake of one unpopular, but just decision, an excellent public servant could lose his or her judgeship.
In an interview in 1966, Judge Horton said he had no regrets about the decision that cost him his career on the bench. He said, "fiat justitia ruat coelum" which translates "Let justice be done, though the heavens may fall."
Attachments:
JamesHORTON.jpg
Topics
A Juvenile's Right to a Jury Trial in Kansas
C- End of 2007 Report
Election of Judges
Judge James Horton
Paul Morrison
Recent Updates
July 11, 2008
Election Of Judges in Johnson County
July 07, 2008
A Juvenile's Right to a Jury Trial
January 16, 2008
End of 2007 - State of the Office
January 16, 2008
Paul Morrison
December 12, 2007
Judge James Horton
