This year I will celebrate my seventh wedding anniversary with my wife, Catherine. She teaches nineteen first graders at G.W. Trenholm Primary School in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Catherine loves her job and the children that she inspires. This is her sixth year to teach. Catherine and I have not been blessed with children yet but we are the proud aunt and uncle to our four nephews (soon to be five) and one niece, all under the age of ten. We await God’s blessing and fully understand that his plan always works.
My parents are Don and Arweeda Coker. Both of my parents were born in different communities outside of Tupelo, Mississippi. Both were reared on farms and were the first in their families to graduate from college. My dad graduated from Florence State University and my mother from Blue Mountain College and Mississippi State University. My parent’s degrees were in education. My father started his career teaching and coaching basketball in Lexington. His career led him to Sulligent and then to Pell City, Alabama. After 26 years of teaching and educating, my parents retired from the Alabama public school system. They then returned home to care for their aging parents and began teaching in Mississippi. My parents are now retired after 40 years of teaching numerous children throughout Alabama and Mississippi.
Upon graduating from the University of Alabama School of Law, I moved to Tuscumbia to serve as the law clerk. For a year and a half I researched the applicable law and wrote briefs for the two circuit court judges and Judge Carpenter. I believe that work experience prepared me for my own practice. On January 1, 2001, I began my law practice. I’m proud of the practice I have built representing clients in civil, criminal, domestic, probate and juvenile matters. I am also pleased with my work as Municipal Court Judge for the City of Russellville and the Town of Cherokee.
I have practiced in most of the courts throughout our area. I have seen good judges and I know their traits. They are fair, firm and yet compassionate when the situation calls for it, and most importantly, curious about the law. The best judges are those that are as equally prepared to discuss the merits of the case when the lawyers approach the bench. I believe that the District Court in Colbert County, under Judge Carpenter’s leadership, is well run and as fair a courtroom as you will find in the Shoals area. I want to continue in that tradition.
I feel that too often any candidate running for office espouses change when they might not really fully grasp why the system is working the way that it is. There are over 15,000 cases filed each year in the District Court of Colbert County. The system that is in place in that office has evolved over time to address that increase in volume. There are certainly things that can be improved upon to make things more efficient such as the move to go paperless. Judge Carpenter, despite being one of the longest serving judges in the state, has embraced this move whole heartedly. I could not agree more. It will save the state resources, time and taxpayer’s dollars. I would hope that the county might consider implementing video conferencing whereby criminal arraignments and bond hearings could be held via a video monitor from the jail thus negating the need of the sheriff’s department using manpower and resources in transporting the criminal defendants to the courtroom. I think these are small measures which can be expanded to make the court more efficient and cost effective.
In Colbert County, the District Court Judge serves as the Juvenile Court Judge. It is my involvement in juvenile court cases which have been the most rewarding to me. I’ve handled over 700 of these juvenile cases which have been either custody or delinquency matters. I have represented the rights of parents but also served as an advocate for children in the role of Guardian ad Litem. The State of Alabama now requires certification and continued retraining to serve as a Guardian ad Litem. I have continued to remain certified since the inception of that requirement. Through the role of Guardian ad Litem, I have worked with the Department of Human Resources on hundreds of occasions. In cases where the child has been removed from the home and placed into foster care, I believe that it is equally important that DHR be held accountable to make sure all available resources are being used to reunite that parent and the child. Just as the parents are to be held accountable and follow certain guidelines, so should the State of Alabama operating through the Department of Human Resources.
The next District Court Judge will have an incredible responsibility in hearing these juvenile cases. Often times that child is too young to express his or her own concerns. Too many cases continue to come before the court where the parents are choosing drugs over the safety of their children. You continue to see a cycle of children having children and they are immature and ill-prepared as parents. They are signing on for the toughest job in the world, to be a parent, and they do not have the basic skills to ever begin that journey. As a court, we need to make sure these parents are given an opportunity to gain these skills while keeping the children safe from any neglect. We do need to consider the implementation of additional parenting programs and continue to support the Court Appointed Special Advocate (C.A.S.A.) program which continues to grow in Colbert County. We also need to take full advantage of the Children’s Policy Council and use this group to enhance and increase the resources available to the children of our community. I believe the juvenile court should consider the establishment of a mentoring program for troubled youth that come before the court on truancy or delinquency charges. There are numerous homes throughout our communities where there are too few role models. By placing community leaders and volunteers into mentoring roles for these youth, it can only help the situation and hopefully break a cycle of delinquent behavior.
Finally, as District Judge, I’m going to be fair. The words “innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt” should mean something to all of us. Just because someone is charged with a crime does not mean they are guilty. It is the burden of the state to prove that guilt. The facts, applied to the law, must support the conviction. Our court system can never become a place where one side is favored over the other. The courtroom must remain a fair, neutral ground where cases are decided based upon the laws of this state and country.
As the next District Judge, I’m going to run my courtroom according to the rule of law. I’ll be firm but fair. I’ll rule quickly because I understand that each of those 15,000 files that I see every year impact our citizen’s lives. I understand that my rulings may carry drastic consequences for those individuals and their families. It is an incredible responsibility that I won’t take lightly.
Note: It's refreshing that Mr. Coker is one of the candidates in this race that doesn't see the need to smear the names of others and that he has a good grasp on the need change does or doesn't need to play in today's court system.
Shoalanda
Ever hear the talking heads on television speaking about so and so going to anger management classes? I wonder exactly what those classes teach. Perhaps that might be the prescription for our politicians both local and national. Oh, we also need to add a truth class to that also. So now, we have anger management and truth for politicians. Now that is a real oxymoron.
Let us take a break and see who is angry. Locally, we have Cherokee where the Hatfield and McCoys stay at war with one another. Others have referred to them as the West Colbert Mafia. That however gives the Southside of Chicago an appalling name. Then of course, there is Leighton where they have a different bunch of angry folks. Florence not be outdone is not only angry but defiant as well. For some reason the residents are not allowed to know why they have secreted the real deal on the country club sale and ECM. Whatever happened to the Sunshine Laws? Guess it has been too cloudy.
Then of course, there is the state legislature and congress. Once again, both of these elements hate their adversaries. What happened to bipartisanship? Does any of this make any sense? Sounds like anger management classes and time with the Dali Llama are in order for all elements.
The next issue is being truthful. Would a politician lie? The answer is, “Are his lips moving?” I am sure there is some truth in some of these individuals but both sides accuse each other of lying. We have “Truth in lending and advertising," why not just plain truth for politicians with no frills?
To quote a famous movie, “What we have here is failure to communicate.” Would it not be easier and cheaper if we just sent the lot of them to “Anger Management Classes”? I am sure they would come back calm and contrite not to mention amiable. And yes, I have some swampland in Arizona I will sell you cheap if you believe that one.
On the other hand, why not fire the whole lot? Ockham's razor, the meta-theoretical principle that "entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity" (the federal government), and the conclusion thereof, is that the simplest solution is usually the correct one. Then termination seems to be the simplest solution for our angry and untruthful elected representatives.
There is one final way to tell where their sympathies lie. Let us see if they are willing to put the new Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to a vote. “Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States.”
This new amendment is making its rounds through the Internet. Personally, I think it beats anger management. What do you think? Could this simple amendment be the panacea that could cure all of our problems with congress and the state legislature?
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Shoalanda
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