Local judge mixes commentary in with sentencings

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Judge Tim Bjorkman poses in his office recently at the courthouse in Salem. (Chris Huber/Republic Photo)

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Judge Tim Bjorkman is not afraid to speak his mind.

In the four years he’s served as a circuit court judge, he’s presided over wide-ranging cases including drug abuse, rape, drunken driving, stalking and theft. More often than not, Bjorkman will send criminals away with words of advice, admonishment or both.

“I’m often left to figure out whether they need a boost up or a boot in the rear end, frankly,” Bjorkman said in a recent interview with The Daily Republic.

This fall, Bjorkman gave Loren Mead, 19, the boot. The 19-year-old was appearing in front of Bjorkman after admitting to drinking alcohol while on probation.

“Every time you appear in front of the court, any sympathy that your personal history might generate is less and less,” Bjorkman told Mead.

Bjorkman tried to give a boost to Franklin Whiting Jr., a 20-year-old in court in July for his fourth charge of driving under the influence.

Whiting’s father, James Franklin Whiting, was also on the docket that day for his third DUI.

“I think it’s obvious to everyone here that you’re part of a sad family cycle of abuse, but I see so much potential in you and so much talent and giftedness,” Bjorkman said. “You’ve violated the law, but you’ve still got time to turn it around.”

Bjorkman, who lives in Canistota with his wife, Carol, practiced law for 24 years before being elected as a First Judicial Circuit judge in 2006. The circuit includes Aurora, Bon Homme, Brule, Buffalo, Charles Mix, Davison, Douglas, Hanson, Hutchinson, McCook and other counties outside The Daily Republic’s readership area.

Bjorkman’s trademark comments will be relocated next month when he and Judge Sean O’Brien switch up their caseloads in Davison County. O’Brien will begin presiding over the felony criminal cases while Bjorkman will switch to handling civil cases.

Bjorkman said he didn’t initially plan to attach words of wisdom to his sentences. It just happened naturally as a byproduct of his analysis of pre-sentence reports, which contain information on the criminal’s family, education and substance-abuse history. Bjorkman said the reports indicate a “disintegration” of the family structure.

“The breakdown of the family is the most powerful component,” he said. “Probably 85 percent of the people who stand in front of me on a felony sentencing grew up without a father in the home or grew up with an alcoholic, drug-addicted or abusive father. Usually, two of those three exist.”

But Bjorkman is careful to point out that a rough history does not excuse criminal action.

When studying the pre-sentence report, Bjorkman concentrates not only on the criminal’s history but also the level of truthfulness with which the information was presented.

“I want to know whether that person appears to be leveling with me about the facts of the case. Some people are extremely contrite and broken and some people are more cavalier,” Bjorkman said. “If you can lie to a judge in preparing for your own sentencing, that’s troubling.”

The reactions to Bjorkman’s words are varied. Some criminals appear to pay close attention to Bjorkman’s advice, nodding in agreement and thanking him for his words.

Others display a tough exterior and show no emotion.

Criminals sometimes respond in unique ways. After the judge chastised 21-yearold Cole St. John earlier this year for failing to comply with court-ordered requirements related to his suspended penitentiary sentence, St. John sarcastically said “See you later, buddy,” as he was led out of the courtroom.

Bjorkman remained stonefaced and said nothing. He said he doesn’t get bothered by responses like St. John’s; nor does he get bothered by encountering people who’ve come through his courtroom in the past.

Bjorkman gets several letters a month from convicted criminals. He fondly remembers the letter from a prisoner who expressed his raw determination to better his life and prove Bjorkman’s admonishment during sentencing wrong.

“He wrote, ‘I want to prove to myself that you’re wrong,’ ” Bjorkman said. “That’s beautiful.”

Bjorkman often ends a sentencing with “I wish you the best.” He means those words, he said, even if they are attached to a prison sentence.

“I’ve never had any joy sending anyone to prison,” Bjorkman said.

“I don’t have any sense that what I would tell a defendant facing sentencing is always going to have any big impact but, if I can give them something that they can hang onto and maybe use that to someday grow from, society’s a lot better off.”

After Bjorkman became a judge, an old friend and longtime prosecutor sent him two letters full of advice.

Two seemingly contradictory things stand out from those letters and influence the way Bjorkman presides to this day: Don’t do any favors for a criminal defendant and, when in doubt, always give the defendant the benefit of the doubt.

Bjorkman reconciled the two and, as a result, stays careful not to be lenient without a reason while being ready default to leniency if he’s not sure what the proper method of justice is.

“The judge’s duty is to render decisions without either fear or favor. You make your decision and you think it out as carefully as you can,” Bjorkman said. “You do the best you can with what you’re able to do, and the rest will have to work itself out.”

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