Judge application changes in Scott County

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By Ann McGlynn | Friday, August 08, 2008 |

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A new associate court judge application for Scott County asks more questions about candidates’ backgrounds, requests permission for deeper background checks and dedicates nearly four pages to detailing personal qualifications applicants should possess for the job.

The applications, available Friday, will be what candidates complete to vie for the position of Kyle Williamson, who resigned effective Sept. 4. Williamson left the bench in January, just 10 weeks into his judgeship, as a criminal probe launched into his activities. He is now facing state and federal fraud, identity theft and forgery charges.

“In order to strengthen the selection process, the commission has adopted a more detailed and extensive application,” said Judge Mary Howes, who leads the committee that will select three finalists from which the district judges will choose Williamson’s replacement.

The committee also will request help from the Iowa

Division of Criminal Investigation, she said.

Additional questions include:

-- Whether the applicant has been disciplined by an employer in the past year for any reason.

-- Whether anyone has filed any sort of complaint with an investigative agency or employer.

-- If the person is the subject of an investigation that could result in civil, administrative or criminal action.

-- Whether the applicant is an officer or director in any business, and the form asks for details on that business if the answer is yes.

Applicants also must now provide a credit report; evidence of legal malpractice coverage; a list of cases in which he or she is listed as the trustee, guardian, conservator or executor; and an explanation of how they will conclude their law practices within 30 days.

The application also includes four pages of personal qualifications a potential judge must possess. The qualifications, Howes said, are borrowed from other districts and modified to fit Scott County.

No. 1 on the list is integrity.

“The focal point of the judicial system is the integrity of its judges,” it says. “Integrity includes intellectual honesty, fairness, impartiality, moral commitment, professional uprightness and unswerving ethics. A candidate should be known to make representations that can be relied upon.”

Williamson was named a judge in October and took the bench in November. He has been on a combination of paid medical leave and suspension since Jan. 18 after a suicide attempt. His yearly salary is $122,400.

Williamson faces six counts of fraud, forgery and identity theft in U.S. District Court in Davenport and two counts of falsifying public documents in Scott County District Court. He is accused of forging the signatures of community leaders, lying to his bank and to his clients and stealing from at least one fellow attorney, according to state and federal authorities.

The forged signatures include those of Scott County Sheriff Dennis Conard, the president of a Teamsters Union and Judge Howes.

Others have come forward claiming Williamson performed shoddy work for them while he was an attorney.

Williamson is in the Dubuque County Jail. His request to be detained at Genesis Medical Center’s locked psychiatric intensive care unit was denied.

Associate court judges handle lower-level felonies, drunken driving cases, misdemeanors and some civil actions.

The committee replacing the retiring Arlen Van Zee in Clinton County was the first to request more information in light of Williamson’s arrest. The district judges will be making their choice for that job soon.

Ann McGlynn can be contacted at (563) 383-2336 or amcglynn@qctimes.com.

Timeline to replace Kyle Williamson

Applications will be accepted until Aug. 25. A list of all applicants will be posted Aug. 26. Interviews will be held on Aug. 29. Three finalists will be selected. District court judges have 15 days to choose who will be the new associate court judge.

The committee that will choose the three finalists are John Bowman, John O’Donnell, Melissa Gross, Lee Schneider, Audrae Zoeckler and chairperson, District Court Judge Mary Howes.