Public and Civic Club Talks
JUDGE JOHN THORNTON’S INVESTITURE
[Talk given by Judge John E. Enslen at the Old Elmore County Courthouse on January 14, 2019 at 9:00 a.m.]
Welcome to the changing of the guard—the passing the baton.
I am grateful to Judge Thornton for allowing me to participate in his investiture today as my final official act as probate judge. We can already call him Judge Thornton because he has served for 22 years as the City Judge in Wetumpka.
I see that Judge Jimmy Stubbs is here today and I would like to take a brief moment to honor him for his 18 years of service as probate judge. We stand on the shoulders of those who precede us. We all drink from wells we did not dig. Every probate judge faces his own set of challenges, and leaves his own special legacy. Reflect with me on the time that Judge Stubbs served. During his tenure, the probate office progressed from manual typewriters to electronic computers; from thermal paper copiers to printers connected to those computers; from the manual entry of every piece of data to software management systems maintained by vendors. Thank you Judge Stubbs for your excellent service to the people of Elmore County during an important time period. I hope that I have at least left John a shallow well from which to drink.
John Thornton has been especially prepared for this undertaking. He is a 7th-generation Elmore Countian on the Thornton line, as well as other family lines. The oldest gravesite in the Sheppard Cemetery on the Old Georgia Road between Wetumpka and Eclectic is that of Jordan Thornton who was born in 1787 and came to this area from Georgia after serving in the War of 1812. He had 10 children and died in 1871 at the age of 84. Jordan Thornton’s descendants are many and include Judge John Thornton. Jordan Thornton is also my 4th great-grandfather, and he is also a direct lineal ancestor of former probate judge Willie Cousins. The point it this: John Thornton knows the people and the people know him.
John earned both his undergrad and his law degree from the University of Alabama and was admitted to the practice of law in 1982. For eight years he served as an assistant district attorney for Elmore, Autauga, and Chilton Counties, and worked from an office right over there. For the past 28 years he has been a private practicing attorney with a concentration on real estate and probate law.
He has six decades of experience with all that life throws at us, experiencing the highs of triumph and the depths of tragedy. He possesses all of the tools for the job.
Immediately after the November election, at my invitation, John took over the conference table next to my desk, and we began an orientation and transition process which has been going on for about two and a half months. It has been a genuine pleasure for me to work with John in producing a seamless transition. He has become familiar with our 25 employees and the daily operations of the various departments which include probate court, the sale of several types of licenses, the sale of car tags and mobile home decals in three locations, the recording and preservation of public records, elections, and the accounting and transmittal of millions of dollars in revenue to the county, the state, and the local schools. There are more statutes requiring duties of a probate judge than there are statutes requiring duties of the governor of the state. No one will ever know what a probate judge actually does until they have served as a probate judge. The task is awesome.
Judge Thornton, you will hear cases involving people and their personal lives, their family members, their homes, and their freedoms. You will come to understand that a probate judge takes care of those in our society who are the least able to care for themselves:
a. The very young, such as children in need of adoption, a guardian or a conservator.
b. The very old and elderly who are in need of a guardian and conservator because they are no longer able to take care of themselves or manage their money or property or possessions.
c. Those who need treatment or hospitalization because they are suffering from a mental illness. You will hear the most detailed accounts of suicide attempts, alcohol and drug abuse, and all manner of addictions and bazaar behavior.
d. Those whose property is being taken by force for the public good.
You will make decisions directly affecting bereaved spouses and children and siblings.
You will be exposed to families experiencing sadness and grief, sometimes exhibiting anger and resentment. You will witness the ugly face of greed.
So as you embark upon your solemn duties and this new adventure in your life, I give to you a charge. As you take the prescribed oath given to us by our constitutional forefathers, you will invoke the assistance of Almighty God. The oath contains the words “so help me God.” In that same vein, I will draw from the ultimate of all guidebooks, the scriptures, 2 Chronicles 19:5-7, King James Version:
5 ¶ And [Jehosaphat] set judges [throughout all] the land...
6 And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment.
7 Wherefore... et the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed...:for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.
In other words, no perverted justice, no partiality, and no taking of bribes. Bring honor, dignity, and professionalism to the office. Take seriously your oath to serve to the best of your ability. Leave your ego at home, be a good listener, rely on your common sense, and follow the law.
In closing, the good people of your county have honored you by electing you to serve as their probate judge. Your hope and prayer should be that they, or at least the vast majority of them, will ultimately be pleased with what they got. I and others stand at your disposal and will cheerfully lend our assistance when requested. You have our very best wishes for a most successful administration.
Congratulations!
John’s family members who are here are his wife Rebecca Wingett Thornton and their daughter Annie. Rebecca’s father was my Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church here in Wetumpka during my youth. He ran the OK Bakery. How many of you here are old enough to remember the OK Bakery? John’s mother Linda Reed is here along with John’s sister Amy Dorminey.
We invite Rebecca and Annie to come stand at John’s side.
ADMINISTRATION OF THE OATH OF OFFICE