Time On Bench At An End For Skaggs

— Bentonville District Judge John Skaggs will retire after 26 years on the bench.

“It’s time,” Skaggs said. “I will miss the direct contact with the people.”

Skaggs will continue as district judge until Jan. 2 when Ray Bunch, his replacement, will be sworn in. Skaggs plans to still practice law as a part-time attorney.

“He’s retiring as judge, but he still will be the historian for the Benton County Bar Association,” said Seth Bickett, Bentonville attorney and president of the county bar association. “He was a good judge. He knew when to give people a second chance or when punishment was needed.”

Skaggs remembered when he was an attorney and a part-time judge.

“I would go to the police department and they would want to know if I was there as the judge or a lawyer,” Skaggs said. “If I said as judge, then the attitude was quite different.”

Skaggs believes his most noteworthy achievement as district judge was starting DWI court.

Camille Thompson, city staff attorney, said Skaggs deserves credit for the DWI court because the program has impacted on many lives.

“Win or lose, he was always fair in his decisions,” Thompson said.

Ron Routh of Little Rock, who has known Skaggs about 12 years, described him as a dedicated public servant.

“He is guided by his integrity and ethics,” Routh said. “Too few people that we have in public service have those traits. He’s a very decent man. Judges can learn from him.”

Skaggs and his wife, Jerri, plan to travel, and he will have more time to spend with family. Skaggs said he is ready for the next phase of his life, but in his heart he will always be “the judge.”

“In the South, the judge is always the judge,” Skaggs joked.

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