Judge retires after 15 years, looks forward to new adventures

Sixth Judicial District Judge Douglas Russell said after 15 years on the bench he is ready to pursue other things that he enjoys, which will likely include more international travel and extended study into world leaders and events.

Sitting down with Russell in his 'Churchill Room,' which is a cozy nook filled with books about Winston Churchill and only part of his vast basement library, he said the traveling will start next month with a trip to England for the annual 'International Churchill Conference.'

He goes every year and meets up with other historians and sometimes, well known people that he's become friends with, such as Lady Mary Soames, Churchill's daughter. Sadly, she died last year.

While in private practice and before being appointed to the bench in 1999, Russell wrote two books that were published in 1990 and 2005 — 'Orders, Decorations and Medals of Sir Winston Churchill' and 'Soldier' The Military Life of a Gentleman at War. The foreword in Soldier is penned by the late Sir Martin Gilbert, who was the official biographer of Churchill.

'I hope to do more writing,' Russell, 66, of Iowa City, said. 'I also want to have time to spend with my four stepchildren and my three grandchildren. They (grandkids) are all about (ages) 6 and 7 … it's a good time.'

Russell likes to talk about Churchill but not himself. 'I was a lawyer among many lawyers and a judge among judges,' Russell said.

Chief Judge Patrick Grady said Russell, who has been the assistant chief judge since 2009, is a 'steady person, a hard worker that I could also count on.' Grady said they had a bond of sorts because they both nominated for a judgeship in 1995. Grady was appointed that year but Russell got the next vacancy in 1999. 'He was so valuable in helping out on issues in Johnson County,' Grady said.

Senior Judge David Remley also commended his efforts on the Johnson County Courthouse proposal, saying he was in involved in two 'time consuming projects' as chair of the Johnson County Security Committee and as a member of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee. Russell said he was disappointed when the referendum failed three times but there have been some other difficult realities to accept in the court system since he became a lawyer in 1978, along with some good advancements.

'The constant budget struggles — court clerks and court reporters losing their jobs (in 2009 and 2010) — those were difficult,' Russell said.

Russell cited good changes, such as more emphasis on public service and more lawyers doing pro bono work and the creation of Kid's First Law Center, which provides legal representation to children of parents' going through a divorce.

Russell doesn't regret the career path he chose, but admitted law school wasn't his first choice. He had planned to go to graduate school for international studies but there was glut of graduate students at the time, much like law schools within recent years, so Russell enlisted in the Army. Fortunately, he never saw any combat. He instead, went to the Defense Language Institute in California and learned Russian. He mostly interrogated other soldiers in military exercises at Fort Hood. His Army service helped him pay for law school.

Russell said becoming judge seemed like a natural progression and he considered it as the 'pinnacle' of a law career. He was honored Tuesday with a retirement reception at the Johnson County Courthouse, but he's not giving up the robe. He applied as a senior judge and will start in June, working 13 weeks a year. 

'Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.' ~ Winston Churchill