Chavez set to retire
 Superior Court judge says he still wants to work in Kingman
 
By Suzanne Adams
Kingman Daily Miner
 
KINGMAN - After more than 25 years of service as an attorney and a judge in Mohave County, Superior Court Judge James Chavez has decided to hang up his robe.

"I'm retiring purely for financial reasons," he said. He has reached the maximum amount on his retirement account.

"I would still like to work," he said, possibly as an attorney in the area where he grew up, Kingman.

Chavez has lived in Mohave County for most of his life. He was born in Kingman and graduated from Mohave County Union High School. He left to attend the University of Arizona, graduating with a bachelors' degree in Nuclear Engineering in 1974 and then a master's degree a year later. He then attended law school at and graduated from Stanford in 1978.

"I wanted to try something else," he said, referring to his switch to law. "Besides, you don't see too many nuclear power plants around here."

He spent six years serving as an attorney in Colorado before returning home to Kingman. In 1984, he was hired as the Kingman city attorney.

"I've seen substantial changes to the (Kingman) area. Too many to list," he said.

After serving six years as the city attorney, Chavez was appointed to judge pro-tempore in 1990 and then elected to the Division IV seat in 1992. He served as presiding judge from 1992 to 2002 and was re-elected to his seat in 2006.

"As an attorney, you are only concerned with presenting one side of the facts in court," he said. "As a judge, you have to see both sides of the facts, kind of like the referee at the basketball game."

As a Superior Court judge, Chavez has done a little bit of everything. He has presided over juvenile, criminal, civil, probate, mental health, adoption and domestic relations cases.

He remembers the long road trips with his wife to La Paz County to preside over conflict cases or to Bullhead City or Lake Havasu City for juvenile cases in the 1990s. His wife would drive while he read case files.

It was a big accomplishment to bring juvenile court to Bullhead and Lake Havasu, he said. At the time, all juvenile cases were held in Kingman and families had to travel to Kingman.

"It resulted in fewer absence by juveniles or their parents," he said.

"For a while we held juvenile court in a room in the Lake Havasu City Aquatic Center," he said. The court was later moved into the Justice of the Peace Court's building when the new courthouse was built in Lake Havasu.

Chavez handled approximately 20 percent of the criminal cases coming through the Mohave County Superior Court at one time, but now handles mainly civil cases.

He prefers civil cases to criminal cases, but finds both interesting.

"Civil cases have more complex legal issues," he said. "Criminal cases are more interesting on a factual basis."

Plea agreements and settlements are an important part of the court, he said, in terms of keeping the caseloads down in the courts.

"We're dealing mostly in misery in the courts," he said. "People come to court because something went wrong.

"If every case had to go to trial, we would need more courthouses, more attorneys and more judges."

Attorneys on both sides and the judge try to take into consideration what a jury might do when negotiating and approving a plea agreement, he said. Civil suit settlements are negotiated the same way.

"We try to get the situation to the best result," Chavez said.

Trials and court cases can present some interesting dilemmas - the media and cameras being one example.

Chavez presided over the David Bateman case, one that made national news. Bateman was one of eight Colorado City men charged in 2006 with sexual conduct with a minor. Chavez was the only judge who allowed cameras in the court.

"I've always felt strongly that the public has the right to know what we do in the courtroom. I think the rules have changed to agree with me," he said, referring to the recent rule change that allows the media to bring cameras and other recording devices into a courtroom, unless a judge rules otherwise.

Bateman was later sentenced to nine months in prison.

After nearly 30 years as an attorney and a judge, there are few cases that stand out to Chavez. "Every time you think you've seen it all, something else comes up," he said.

"It hasn't been an easy decision to make," he said of opting to retire. "I have enjoyed the work. It's been a real honor serving the people of Mohave County."
 
KingmanDailyMiner.com
Originally published Friday, March 6, 2009
 
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