A well liked and very experienced judge that clearly has the support of many voters. I visited Judge Sheppard’s courtroom today to see what type of judge he was in action. Judge Sheppard is already well respected by the lawyers who appear in his courtroom. Other judges remarked that he was doing a good job picking up some of their cases so he is ready to jump in from day one to even out the case load for other judges. He has an easy going style in the courtroom and shows impartial respect for both sides of the cases. He has a comfortable understand of the case law and is clear on his rulings.After viewing a number of the local judges in action over the last year, I have noted that each one has his or her own style not unlike that of the teaching profession. Some are very precise and to the book while others are more of a question and answer style. Some like to listen first and then ask pointed questions. Each of our current judges brings a history of long study in areas of the law and has practiced in the courtroom sitting. I find that all need the ability to articulate their views to both the voting public and the lawyers who appear before them in the courtroom. Judge Sheppard is clearly very skilled in this area of communication.
I have found after speaking to judge candidates that not all lawyers are good at this skill. Some people have difficulty expressing themselves to the voting public which can translate into a problem in the courtroom. I think that since this position falls to the state central committee to decide who to support that they should look carefully at this skill set. We have a number of highly qualified judges on the second district court at present and we would be lucky to add Judge Sheppard for the next few years to that listing.
