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Judge ready to step up

• FIRST IN A SERIES OF ELECTIONS PROFILES: Albany's Municipal Court chief judge says he is prepared to fill the shoes of the retiring Superior Court chief judge.

Carlton Fletcher

ALBANY — Willie Weaver compares his run for the Dougherty Judicial Circuit Superior Court judgeship that will become vacant with the retirement of long-time jurist Loring Gray to playing golf.

“I’m not running against anyone,” Weaver said Wednesday. “It’s like when you play golf, you play the course. I’m running for office.”

That doesn’t mean Weaver’s unwilling to tell a visitor why he is the best person for the job and why his only declared opponent, Magistrate Court Judge Denise Marshall, is not.

“I’ll tell you a little about myself, and that will help you understand why I am the right man for this position,” Weaver, the current Albany Magistrate Court chief judge, said during a conversation at his Pine Avenue law office. “I come from the bottom of society, lived in poverty and below poverty. I was the middle of seven siblings, and neither of my parents finished high school.

“I was raised in the Washington Homes projects and was one of the first groups that intigrated the (Dougherty) school system. I’d never gotten close to a white child until I was in sixth grade. But with integration I found myself interacting with people who were different from me.

“I served (10 years) in the military in Texas, Europe and Korea with men from all races and walks. I think these vast experiences have given me the vision and the background to look at all types of people. A true judge doesn’t just hand out sentences, he looks behind the sentence to the reason for the crime.”

Experience, Weaver says, is another reason he is better qualified for the Superior Court bench.

“I’ve known Judge Marshall since I came back to Albany in 1992,” he said. “I’ve had a chance to see her at work, and I do not have knowledge of her ever trying a jury case. I’m concerned whether she would have the skills to be a Superior Court trial judge.

“I have proven myself in Municipal Court. I believe being a judge is a balancing act. You have to look at what is in the best interest of society, of the victim and of the defendant. I think there are cases where a judge must look at sentences that will best serve society and rehabilitate the defendant. I do know, though, that there are some defendants who should be in prison.”

Born and raised in Albany, Weaver attended Albany State College (now University) briefly after graduating Dougherty High School. But he decided military service would afford him greater opportunities, so he joined the U.S. Army in 1975. He served 10 years, leaving in 1985 as a Staff Sergeant in the Medical Services Corps.

Utilizing the G.I. Bill, Weaver earned a degree in political science at Mercer University’s Atlanta campus and then attained a law degree at Mercer’s law school in Macon. He worked as a trial lawyer with the Albany-based Brown & Scoccimaro firm (later becoming a partner in Brown, Scoccimaro & Weaver) through 1996 before opening Weaver Law Offices. He was appointed associate Albany Municipal Court judge in 2000 and became chief judge in 2004.

Fellow Albany attorney Tony C. Jones says Weaver has upgraded Municipal Court tremendously since taking the position.

“When he moved into that office, there were a number of things needed,” Jones said. “Not only did he bring a level head and a cool perspective to the bench, he made tremendous improvements in the court. There were a number of physical improvements — better equipment, more office space, a computer system — but he also brought an integrity to the court.

“I honestly feel Judge Weaver will be the best person to fill Judge Gray’s seat. A lot of people don’t understand that Judge Gray was not born a judge. He had to learn the ropes like anyone else, and if Judge Weaver wins the election, he actually will have more judicial experience than Judge Gray did when he took office.”

The election for the Superior Court judgeship will not be Weaver’s first foray into politics. He ran for an unexpired term on the Dougherty School Board with the death of long-time mentor Christine Blaylock in 2002 and was re-elected for a four-year term in 2004 when he ran unopposed.

“My decision to run for the School Board was a desire to help the community, but I also did it in memory of Ms. Blaylock,” Weaver said. “She helped raise me and had a tremendous impact on my life.

“I regret that I will leave the school board after this election, but I certainly hope that someone who has the best interest of the children in our school system will move into the position and not someone who looks at it as a political opportunity.”

Local architect and District 1 School Board member David Maschke, who is supporting Weaver’s run for the Superior Court judgeship, said Weaver’s fairness is a major factor.

“Based on my experience of serving with Judge Weaver on the School Board, I have found him to be fair-minded, a good listener and insighful — all qualities required of a judge,” Maschke said. “He’s not intimidated by the Albany-Dougherty establishment, and it’s been my experience that he’s race-neutral and fair when involved in making decisions.

“I don’t really know Judge Weaver socially, but he is a man of high ethical standards. He’s lived in this community, served on the school board and is committed to making the community better.”

Weaver oversees some 450 cases a week in Municipal Court and also serves as night court judge in the Dawson, Sylvester and Warwick communities. Those experiences, he says, have prepared him for the Superior Court seat.

“One thing I think has been misunderstood is that I am running for a Superior Court seat, not for chief judge, which is the position Judge Gray now holds,” Weaver said. “There are three Superior Court judges in the Dougherty circuit, and the chief judge has traditionally been the one with the longest tenure. That is Judge (Willie) Lockette, and since the judges in the circuit determine who will be chief judge, I would certainly support him.”

From a humble background to the halls of justice, Willie Weaver says it’s his willingness to give everyone fair treatment that has earned the trust of Dougherty County voters.

“This will be a grassroots campaign,” he said. “I won’t win the judge’s seat with TV ads, billboards and yard signs. My team and I are putting together a map of the various districts, and we intend to visit every home in them. I may not personally get to every house, but if anyone has a question for me, I will come and see them.

“The qualities that my parents instilled in me and my siblings is what has led us to become the best persons we can be. I’m a fact-finder, and that’s what I’ll bring to Superior Court. I understand that I must follow the statutes of this state and nation, but I will rely on the facts when I make a decision.”

Qualifying for the Superior Court seat will run April 28-May 2.

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