From hearing court cases to providing leadership in a crisis, the duties of county judges are innumerable. But judges aren’t born with a gavel in their hands – in fact, many of them had successful careers in other fields before donning their judicial robes. Three fields in particular – law enforcement, education and the military – have a high incidence of “graduates” who become county judges.

Such career paths are common predecessors to judgeships, said Chester Robinson, a career counselor at Texas A&M University. Robinson said jobs as teachers, soldiers and peace officers can facilitate development of “helping” skills, which are useful in justice careers.

“It’s the idea of being a leader,” Robinson said. “It’s not like being a manager, where you’re interested in the bottom line. Your responsibility is to take care of other people.”

Here, some of Texas’ county judges share details of their “past lives” at work.

LAW ENFORCEMENT: “I’d had enough of the pistol-packing business”

During his 22-year career with the Texas Department of Public Safety, Delbert Roberts never once imagined that he would hold a gavel. “In all truthfulness, I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be in this position,” said Roberts, who has served as Kimble County judge since 1995. Roberts had only been retired from DPS for four months when he was asked to fill the unexpired term of Judge Wilbur R. Dunk, who was retiring. Roberts has run unopposed in every election since his appointment and continues to be a strong presence in the county.

Roberts said that although his background as a highway patrolman has helped him to deal better with the public as a judge, he has learned most of his skills on the job. “There’s nothing that would have prepared me for the everyday activities that confront a county judge – running the county government,” he said.

His most helpful aid, in fact, was Dunk, who helped Roberts in his transition from law enforcement to county government.

“My predecessor agreed to work with me for as long as it was necessary,” Roberts said. “He kept that promise. In fact, he still does it today.” Roberts said he doesn’t miss the fast-paced life of a patrolman at all.

“It was a positive experience in my life, but it’s kind of like reading a book – I’ve moved on to the next page,” he said.

Also benefiting from a career in law enforcement is Newton County Judge Truman Dougharty, who worked for the Texas Department of Public Safety for more than two decades. Dougharty was stationed in DPS’ Hardin County office for 13 years before transferring to Newton Delbert Roberts County, where he served for 14 years. After retiring early from DPS in 1993, Dougharty worked in security at a paper mill in Jasper County, but was laid off after about a year due to staff reductions.

Dougharty first thought of running for county judge in 1995, after his son was killed in an automobile accident. His son had always encouraged him to seek the position. “That kind of came back to me,” Dougharty said. “I’d had enough of the pistol-packing business, so I decided to do it.”

Dougharty officially threw his hat in the ring in 1998, and by 1999 he was the new Newton County Judge. Three other candidates had also run for the position, so Dougharty said his victory was especially gratifying.

“It’s kind of humbling to a fellow to be writing citations and locking people up, and then people voting you into office,” he said. “I could have well been last in that race. You don’t know sometimes until you run.” Dougharty said his law enforcement background helped to develop his people skills, which are invaluable to a judge. “I learned how to listen to people and work with people, and observe people in their worst circumstances,” he said.

Dougharty was already very familiar with due process of law when he became judge, thanks to his countless hours in court as a DPS officer. “I had been into a lot of courts in civil matters regarding accidents, and that gave me insight as well,” he said.

Though he looks fondly on his days as a law enforcement official, Dougharty said he prefers being a judge.

“Over time, (law enforcement) kind of loads you down,” he said. “It gets to a burnout point. You get to looking at everything so cynically, but you have to remind yourself there’s still a lot of great people around.”

MILITARY: “There’s just no way to duplicate the experience” Lampasas County Judge Virgil Lilley may now be in the business of fixing legal problems, but during his career with the U.S. Army, he fixed mechanical ones. During part of his 20-year career as an Army ordinance officer, Lilley was responsible for making sure military equipment was in tip-top shape. “I was involved in the maintenance of everything imaginable – repairing parts and so on,” Lilley said. “It was trucks and track vehicles and weapons. Everything from packing parachutes to repairing mess kits. If it needed maintaining, almost without exception we were involved.”

After retiring from the Army in 1981, Lilley returned home to Lampasas County to help his parents with their farm. It was then that he started to become interested in public office. “I got active in city politics – a bunch of committees and that sort of thing,” Lilley said. Lilley ran for Lampasas County judge as a Republican in 1985, but “the Republicans at that time could meet in a phone booth, so we didn’t win,” Lilley joked.

Lilley then taught school in Copperas Cove for eight years, retired a second time and began farming again. In 1998, his second campaign for Lampasas County Judge was successful, and he took office in 1999. Lilley’s experience in the Army was actually more relevant to his judgeship than most military posts, since he worked in the military courts for many years. Besides gleaning extensive knowledge about the legal system, Lilley also learned managerial skills from those duties. “I was there in the days before the JAG did all the legal work,” he said. “I had a lot of administrative experiences as an adjutant and executive officers of various units.

“The Army trains its officers at a lot of different school in management techniques, so those skills were very useful. Even the maintenance background was useful, in knowing and understanding equipment and what it takes to keep it running.”

Though his responsibilities as county judge are fulfilling, Lilley said he often wonders what would have happened if he had stayed in the Army. “If I had stayed, where would I have gone, what promotions would I have gotten?” he asked. “I would say there’s just no way to duplicate the experience you have in the military. There’s something about the camaraderie and trust level about serving with people, particularly in wartime situations.” Another judge with a military background is Potter County Judge Arthur Ware, who served two noncontiguous terms in the Marine Corps Reserve. Ware was in the Reserves from 1969 to 1975, and then rejoined in 1985. His second term in the reserves ended in 2000.

Ware, who was first elected county judge in 1990, had not even taken office when he was called to active duty for the Persian Gulf War. Stationed in Kuwait as a platoon sergeant, he was involved in active combat for 60 days, dealing with minefields and chemical agents delivered via SCUD missiles by the Iraqis. Ware said this dangerous job helped him to better deal with the stresses of being a county judge. “One of the things we try to do is laugh at it,” Ware said. “We didn’t laugh at things in the Persian Gulf. It was too serious and too much stress. Everything here’s a walk in the park.”

EDUCATION: "You learn how to evaluate human nature" Though most of Hutchinson County Judge Jack Worsham’s career was spent in the oil business, he taught math and science for three years in Borger. Worsham chose to go into the education field during his last semesters in college, when finances precluded his entry into law school.

"I had a degree in government and economics, and it was basically a pre-law degree out of the school I went to," Worsham said. "But I knew I wasn’t going to be able to go to law school, so I stayed an extra year and got a teaching certificate."

During his second year in the Borger school system, Worsham was promoted to assistant principal, though he still had teaching responsibilities. “I think I got an extra $25 a month for that,” he said.

After leaving public education, Worsham went on to work in Philips Petroleum Company’s natural gas engineering department. He also worked as a drilling engineer in Texas’ oil fields and started his irrigation farming company. But his brief tenure in public education came in handy in 1995, when he fulfilled his aspiration of working in law by being appointed to the Hutchinson County judgeship. Though it was long ago, Worsham’s time as an instructor allowed him to become sensitive to people’s motives and needs – a skill that can work to a judge’s great advantage.

“I think you learn how to evaluate human nature, working with kids,” Worsham said. “There’s very little difference in working with people who come to my criminal court.”

Though he doesn’t intend to return to education, Worsham said his time in the public school system has taught him to respect teachers. “I think it’s pretty much one of the most honorable professions,” Worsham said. “I wish we had a lot more of them.”

A career in education led seamlessly into government work for Gray County Judge Richard Peet, who was an instructor for more than 20 years in Pampa. Peet taught government at both the high school and college level, and public office seemed like the next logical step. Peet served as a Pampa city commissioner for eight years and then as mayor for six years. His first successful run for county judge occurred in 1995.

“The county judge at time was going to retire, and he called and asked if I would get involved,” Peet said. “I decided I would give it a shot. I figured it’s a step to what I would like to do someday.”

Peet, who said his ultimate goal is to serve in Congress, said his time in the classroom has enhanced his public speaking abilities and enabled him to become a better politician.

“One of the biggest things is the ability to speak in front of people; this is something a lot of people fail to realize,” Peet said. “It requires a lot of opportunities to speak to civic clubs and organizations, and many times you have to do that rather impromptu. Having new classes at your high school or college teaches you to think on your feet and be impromptu.”