Thirty-four years of serving as a district judge in Orange County will come to end for Buddie Hahn in another month. Hahn has officially resigned from his position sending his letter of resignation to Governor Greg Abbott this week.
Hahn has been the judge of the 260th District Court since December 1984. His resignation will be effective June 30.
Four decades as a judge seems like a long time according to Hahn. There have been some changes in especially the drug laws, and Hahn believes the penalties have gotten a little more lenient in some respect. He concedes it has been a long haul and it is time to hang it up.
In his years on the bench the judge has heard many cases. Two that stick with him include a case of indecency with a child about 20 years ago by the father of an adopted daughter. The jury eventually found the father not guilty, and the family abandoned the young girl. “That one gnawed at me for a long time and still does,” Hahn admits.
The other controversial case was a boating accident a decade ago that took the life of three persons. The defendant in the case had pled guilty to a DWI in Hardin County days before the boat he was driving hit a stump in the river killing his wife, his brother, and his brother’s girlfriend. Hahn sentenced the man to five years in the penitentiary while the family of the girl killed in the accident wanted more time in prison for the man which Hahn understands, but the defendant also suffered losses with his wife and brother being taken in the crash.
Hahn plans to travel with his wife Carol during his retirement, but he is not hanging up his judge’s robe for good yet. He is making himself available to be appointed as a visiting judge. Hahn explained, “It could be in Houston, it could be all over the area.”
Local attorney Steve Parkhurst ran unopposed in March during the Republican Primary to replace Hahn. Parkhurst has no opponent in the November general election, so he will become the 260th District Court judge in January 2019.
Parkhurst could be appointed to take the position following Hahn’s last day of June 30. The appointment will be done by Governor Abbott. Parkhurst informs that any qualified attorney that lives in Orange County can seek the appointment. He confesses if the governor appoints him to the judgeship good for him, if not he will wait until January. “We’ll wait to see what the governor says, but I’ll be ready when they call me up,” Parkhurst confided.
Since graduating in 1996 with his law degree from the South Texas College of Law in Houston Parkhurst has worked as an attorney. He has served in both civil and criminal cases. Despite his experience working for defendant’s in criminal cases, Parkhurst stated he should not be considered a defendant’s judge. “I’m going to follow the law and where there is discretion allowed my decision will be fact based,” Parkhurst concluded.
In the mean time until an appointment is made Parkhurst will continue to try cases in his office. He works with his long-time law partner David Dies based in Orange.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
Very deserving
We getting a new judge thats great