‘I want to live.’ Houston County judge puts down the gavel in retirement
Despite the stresses and difficulties that come with presiding over criminal and civil cases for nearly 30 years, a Houston County judge said he is grateful for the time spent on the bench as he steps into retirement.
Former Chief Judge Edward Lukemire put down his gavel as a full-time judge on April 1. A recent health scare showed him “it was time for me to go,” he told The Telegraph.
“I’ll be honest with you, I still, after so many years, I would go to work and I would think, you know, how am I so fortunate to be here now?” Lukemire said.
After studying law at Mercer University, Lukemire was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1980. First, he worked as a clerk for a federal judge in the Middle District of Georgia, then worked as an assistant district attorney for roughly 14 years, according to Lukemire.
He briefly worked as an assistant U.S. attorney before being elected as the Houston County district attorney in 1989.
After working in the legal field for so long, Lukemire said he eventually dreamed of being on the bench. When the opportunity arose, he ran for a Houston County judge seat and was elected in 1996.
Using his psychology studies in his law career
Lukemire’s career, however, didn’t start in law — he studied psychology at Mercer University.
“Well, in hindsight, I really think most people become psych majors either because they want to help people with problems, or they have problems themselves they want to figure out,” Lukemire said. “I don’t know which is mine. It’s probably some combination.”
Lukemire had been interested in the field since high school. He also enjoyed some of the psych classes taught at Mercer University, which led him to realize “that was the direction of my life.”
However, Lukemire was rejected from a psychology graduate program and was eventually led to Mercer’s law school, which didn’t have requirements on what kind of undergraduate major students needed, he said.
Despite not pursuing a career in psychology, Lukemire said his studies helped him in the courtroom.
“You’re dealing with people and … a lot of times, people are at their worst,” Lukemire said. “They’re hurting, they’re sad, they’re angry, they’re frightened.”
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What he learned throughout his career
Careers can be all-consuming, Lukemire said. He described the law as a jealous mistress, and “she will take everything you give and ask for more.”
He hasn’t been able to balance his work and his personal life perfectly. However, Lukemire tries to remember that his career doesn’t define him.
“If you enjoy your job so much, it’s hard to (balance your work and life),” Lukemire said. “It just kind of becomes a part of you. But I think that understanding that yes, you’re a judge, or yes, you’re a lawyer, but … you’re somebody other than that.”
He gets burnt out himself. Though every case is different for the litigants, Lukemire sometimes found it repetitive after nearly 30 years on the bench. However, there are still nuances and differences in each case, so a judge needs “to stay alert and listen to what might be different,” Lukemire told The Telegraph.
Lukemire has also noticed a post-modern philosophy, in which truth becomes subjective, reality becomes personal and nobody can agree what’s right or wrong. It results in judges and governments finding it difficult to restore order, he said.
“The whole idea of the rule of law is that there are some core principles … (that) transcend any political view, any particular cultural thing — they’re universal,” Lukemire said. “And when you ignore those or push those to the side, when you say rule of law, you’re not really talking about rule of law. It’s really (the) rule of power.”
What’s next for him?
The health scare that led to Lukemire’s retirement showed him that he didn’t “want to stay here and get carried out feet first.”
“I want to live, I want to do some other things,” Lukemire said.
But he’s not entirely stepping away from the judicial system. Lukemire will work as a senior judge for the Third Judicial District. It encompasses the Macon Judicial Circuit, the Houston County Judicial Circuit, the Southwestern Judicial Circuit and the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit.
In the role, he’ll replace judges who are sick or have a conflict that requires them to step back from a case.
When he’s not on the bench, he looks forward to traveling and learning new hobbies — especially how to cook.
“(My wife) would love that,” Self said.
