Crawford County judge retires his gavel

By Correne Martin

After 45 years in the court of law—the last six on the judicial bench—judge James P. “Jim” Czajkowski has withdrawn any motion to proceed to a second term. He retired from his duties as the Crawford County Circuit Court judge on the evening of July 31.

Attorney Lynn Rider, who practiced law with Czajkowski from the mid-1980s through 2010, was sworn in as the new judge shortly afterward.

“The county will be in good hands,” Czajkowski said in support of his friend.

As Rider becomes acclimated, reserve judges will serve as her mentors, and they will also hear cases while she trains in other counties. After 75 days, Czajkowski can consider becoming a Wisconsin reserve judge himself, likely outside the county.

Succeeding the former judge Michael Kirchman, who resigned in 2009, Czajkowski was elected to the seat in April of 2010. Gov. Jim Doyle appointed him to the post in May that same year, yet his sole term of office didn’t officially begin until Aug. 1, 2010.

Since 2011, when Richland County’s district attorney was sworn in as its judge, to avoid a conflict of interest, Czajkowski also heard some Richland County cases—about three or four times per month.

Reflecting upon all of his duties, Czajkowski said he liked being a circuit court judge but feels it’s time for somebody younger to preside over the county courtroom.

“I took the bench recognizing I had a different responsibility than when I was a lawyer, but I was still the same person, so my attitude toward people, life and what is good and bad didn’t change,” he indicated.

“It’s hard to get a reading of the public’s perception. Lawyers say ‘good job’ much like a handshake at the end of a ballgame, but nobody says ‘good job’ or ‘bad job’ to the judge,” he added, with a sincere grin.

As Czajkowski sees it, every judge is fallible and has his or her own personality as well as strengths and weaknesses that are carried along when they take the bench. When he became judge, his own intellect, experiences and reticent nature had already been well shaped from a near 40-year career practicing law.

Czajkowski graduated from UW Law School in 1971, during the Vietnam Era. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and reported for duty at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Michigan on Sept. 15, 1971. He served as a second lieutenant in the Strategic Air Command for four years and one month, concentrating on criminal law as a judge advocate. On Oct. 15, 1975, he was discharged (and served in the AF Reserve until 1980). At the same time, he joined the Scheffer and Queram law practice in Prairie du Chien, until 1979, when he became the Crawford County district attorney for a short period. In 1980, he returned to private practice for 30 years before putting on the judicial robe.

“From 1980 to 2010, I worked in mostly civil law—personal injuries, divorce work, insurance company representation,” Czajkowski noted. “When I became judge, I found out it was much more criminal law than I anticipated, probably 65 to 70 percent of the work. And I had little to no experience with the juvenile code. In one-judge counties, you’re expected to do everything and that becomes a challenge.”

Procedurally, Czajkowski said, the rules of evidence are the same for both types of law, but, in criminal law, the decisions are based more on the burden of proof as well as defendants’ clear and conceivable thinking.

“Such nuances are tough but, over the years, you get a feel for making those kinds of decisions,” he related. “There are a number of interests to consider: protection of society, what’s an appropriate punishment, and what sentence should I impose on this defendant to prevent others from doing the same. Also, rehabilitation is a different consideration with a first-time offender than with a repeat offender.”

Czajkowski said, oftentimes, the accused will present emotive arguments that they need to be with family, have a good work record or that they “won’t do it again.”

“But at some point, you have to be responsible,” said Czajkowski of his view. “Most people related to those sentenced believe I did my job and fulfilled my obligation. It was more difficult in small claims cases, where no attorneys were involved and litigants had no knowledge of the law. In those situations, I explained to those people that I was obligated to follow the law.”

In retirement, Czajkowski already misses his clerk staff who, he said, “helped me through every day.”

“In all my years of practice and on the bench, their expertise never changed,” he said in praise. “They all had their own areas of expertise and made sure I was well prepared when I entered the courtroom.” He explained that the docket for the next day’s cases was always on his desk the afternoon before a day in court.

Czajkowski spent many long hours after the courthouse doors closed each day, reading such documents as pre-sentence investigation and juvenile dispositional reports that were 10 to 20 pages apiece. He made notes from those papers and then, the night before hearing the case, he read over his notes and developed a general idea of how he might rule. Though, commonly, his opinion changed after closing arguments were expressed in court.

“I never felt comfortable winging it,” he said, adding that the most time-consuming matters seemed to be medical malpractice cases, in which, he said, the lawyers were always “top notch and very convincing.”

The most intense criminal case during his term, Czajkowski admitted, was the Michael Burroughs reckless homicide trial and sentencing. “It was a unique one, because there was no body,” he said, noting that Burroughs, who received a 31-year prison sentence in 2012, is still behind bars.

Now that his courtroom role is not a factor, Czajkowski is eager to catch up with some of his longtime friends, namely the lawyers in Crawford County.

“In a one-judge county, the position tends to create an isolated judge and the lawyers in this county are very careful about ex parte communication. That was significant for me,” he said. “I knew all of them as friends and they would stop in my office to talk about things such as Wisconsin football or our kids. But that stopped when I became judge.”

Now fully living the retired life, the rural Wauzeka resident expects to spend many of his days outside. He enjoys being on the river and also plans to emerge himself in the restoration of 17 acres of oak savanna and prairie near his home. Additionally, he likes to read, go to the gym, visit national parks with his wife, Joyce, and spend time with his grandkids. Besides all that, he is a woodworker and makes canoes and kayaks in the offseason and would like to travel to Poland, since he and Joyce are both of Polish descent.

As Crawford County moves forward with its new judge, Czajkowski proudly regards the majority of his decisions the past six years as correct conclusions.

“I really believe I had a pulse on the moral compass of the community,” he said.