Scroll down to see Mike’s Answers to the following questions:

• What is Family Court?
• Why do you want to be Lee County’s Family Court Judge?
• How can a Judge really help people be “their better selves?”
• How do you intend to handle Divorce Cases?
• How will you insure fairness?
• What is your perspective on the role of the Courts?
• What does a Referee do?

What is Family Court?

Family Court in Lee County handles primarily juvenile issues and domestic disputes.  Juvenile issues include those where children are accused of criminal type activity (although convictions are not counted as crimes in Juvenile Court but indiscretions called delinquencies), and those issues where children are being abused or neglected.  Domestic disputes principally involve child custody, child support, separation, and divorce.

Why do you want to be Lee County’s Family Court Judge?

More than wanting to be Family Court Judge, I want to continue to help people in Lee County Family Court.  The label really isn’t important.  It’s the ability to help others in that position that is important.  I’ve learned in my six years of hearing cases as a Referee in Family Court that this Court is uniquely situated at a cross-road for so many people.  The decisions they are making will affect the rest of their lives and often the lives of others around them as well.

I want to take advantage of the Family Court’s strategic position to help change lives and protect the innocent.  I believe that Family Court ,more than any other court, has the ability to help people and make positive change in people’s lives.  If we can help those who come through the court, it makes for a better community for all of us and our children.

People would be absolutely amazed to see the hurt and depravity that many of the children of Lee County are raised in.  Many of us need to reach out to them in our own way and help them out of the circumstances they find themselves in.

So I guess the short answer to your question is that I want to continue helping people become their better selves and protecting the innocent from being hurt.  Every time we are able to do that, we make our schools safer, our education better, our community more stable, and our homes more secure.

How can a Judge really help people be “their better selves?”

Well, first of all, let me  acknowledge that a Judge can’t force anyone to be their better selves, but I do believe that I can help.  For instance, in the Juvenile Court context, I often have kids come before me that have never had a strong home learning environment and as a result don’t even fully understand the wrongfulness of their actions.  Because the Family Court is positioned to meet them at their place of need, we can work to teach them the principles of self-discipline, fleeing temptation rather than just avoiding wrong-doing, and that actions (good and bad) have like consequences, etc.  For those with strong home environments, we can try to lend credibility to what they are already being taught.

In the area of marital disputes, I believe one of the greatest things we can do is try to push everyone to put the kids first.  Marital disputes are about as emotional as anything I know of and too often that natural emotion distracts moms and dads and deceives them into thinking that the goal is to defeat their spouse or enact revenge upon them.  I’ve never known of a divorce nasty enough to make a child’s life better – or their parents’ lives better for that matter.  So if a Judge can help people in this very stressful time to focus on what really matters and not get distracted by what doesn’t, he serves them well.

How do you intend to handle Divorce Cases?

-With extreme caution and a desire to have families be as strong as possible.

Divorce is never to be celebrated because, like a fever, it is always a sign of something bad going on.  Divorce is a somber occasion much like a death and probably should be mourned like a death.  Even when one spouse escapes a long train of abuses by the other, there is still the reality that a relationship that once had the potential to be a blessing, has instead died.

So with that in mind, I will handle divorce as being extremely serious.  As I mentioned earlier, I will put children first in all decisions and try to keep spouses from being distracted and enslaved by their own anger.  I often encourage couples to try to work out their differences and salvage their marriage commitment- especially in incompatibility cases.   Reconciliation is not always possible and it certainly takes two to tango, but when a couple is able to reconnect their lives and their mutual commitment to one another, it is a wonderful thing.

Once the children’s best interests are taken care of,   I try to align myself with the principal of the harvest:  that you reap what you sow.    If you sow betrayal, or abuse, or just lack of commitment, there are negative consequences for that;  just as there are positive consequences for perseverance and sacrifice.  If you breach the marriage covenant, expect there to be consequences for your breach.  I believe a court should reinforce those principles.

All of this should be done without any kind of prejudice or favoritism however.  Neither gender, race, nor even your attorney should in anyway predetermine the outcome of your case in Court.  I try hard -and pray hard- to make sure my decisions are an accurate reflection of the facts.  When those facts do not clearly distinguish one point of view over another, I pray that God would give me the wisdom to do what is right even when I have the inability to know what is right.

How will you insure fairness?

I believe the largest thing I can do is make a conscientious effort to keep an open mind and work hard to listen to all sides.   Sometimes you walk into a courtroom and within sixty seconds you think the Judge is either for you or against you.   If a judge has made up his or her mind about you that quickly, that’s more likely prejudice than justice.  And if you get a fair result in that context, you should count your blessings.

I actually think that’s one of the ways I’ve been gifted to serve in this position.  Deciding cases on a part time basis all these years has shown me that I really do have a temperament that usually is open to what everyone has to say.  I hesitate to say that, because I’m sure it could sound prideful, but I don’t say it to pat myself on the back.  In fact, like all God’s gifts, it is nothing I earned but it’s something I have been given, so I can’t take credit for it.  Anyway, God’s just given me a passion for people and I try hard to make sure they leave my courtroom knowing that they got a fair trial even if they didn’t get the result they wanted.

In the end, it is about reminding yourself that there is more you don’t know than you do know;  that all of us are created equal by God and should be treated as such, that when you speak the truth it should be in love, and that you should cling to justice with one hand and mercy with the other.

I should also note that I’ve had some great mentors in this area.  I don’t know of anywhere that has had better judges than Lee County has.

What is your perspective on the role of the Courts?

The role of the Court is to apply the law as enacted by the people -through their legislatures.  I often hear it said-usually among fellow conservatives and Republicans-that a judge’s job is to interpret the law.  I actually believe this is a poor choice of words.  It seems to imply that our law is written in some foreign language or something.  It’s not.  Admittedly, our government (especially our federal government) has written some mammoth documents that are often difficult to comprehend and are sometimes even self-contradictory.  However, for the most part, our laws are written in pretty simplistic terms and merely need to be applied, not interpreted.

The moment a court takes up the task of doing anything other than applying the law to the facts, it has usurped its authority (which is the law) and become a law unto itself, creating law-as it were- ex post facto or after the fact.  When this occurs Freedom’s foundations become shifting sand.  For if the Court is both creator of law and decider of law, your freedom only exists as long as the Court grants you favor.

Sadly, sometimes there are flawed laws which cause a result that does not seem right or fair even to the judge.  However even under such circumstances a judge must resist the temptation to place him or herself above the law.  The end does not justify the means.

You have been a Referee in Family Court for six years.  What does a Referee do?

A referee is an individual entrusted by a court to hear cases and render decisions much like a judge.  A referee is not a judge, but is appointed by one and is sworn to uphold the law like a judge.  Usually referees are used in courts like ours where there are large numbers of cases on the rolls making it difficult for the judge to keep up with the large numbers of cases filed.

It’s very humbling to me that Judge Lane has had that kind of trust in me for each of the last six years.  It’s always a little frightening to delegate tasks out to others for fear it will not be handled the way you would want it to be handled. So I really appreciate being allowed to fill such an important position and assist Judge Lane with his case load.  I have learned a lot and have enjoyed serving the people that came before me.