Sidney Municipal Court Judge Gary Carter, center, speaks after receiving a proclamation from Mayor Mike Barhorst, right, during his retirement party on Friday in the municipal courtroom. Standing on the left is Court Administrator and Clerk of Courts Tony Kremer.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
SIDNEY — Sidney Municipal Court Judge Gary J. Carter celebrated his retirement Friday after over four decades of public service. Friends and colleagues gathered at the municipal courtroom to celebrate with him.
Sidney Mayor Mike Barhorst presented Carter with a proclamation declaring Friday as Judge Gary Carter Day in Sidney. He said Carter has presided over 36,000 cases and noted his contributions to the administration of justice, including “mentoring colleagues, improving court processes and advancing access to justice for the community through his service on the Ohio State Bar Association Council of Delegates and Ohio State Bar Association Board of Governors.”
Carter began his career in 1983 working as an assistant prosecutor for Darke County Prosecutor Lee Fry. In 1984, he began working as a staff attorney for the Dayton Metro Housing Authority.
In 1987, Carter began working as the managing attorney for Allen County Legal Services and continued there until 1991 when Judge John Schmitt hired Carter as magistrate for the domestic relations division of the Shelby County Common Pleas Court. He remained in that position until his election as Sidney municipal court judge beginning Jan. 1, 2020.
In December of last year, Carter announced he would be retiring at the end of 2025. His last official day as judge will be when his term officially ends on Dec. 31.
Carter said he wanted to retire when he was “at the top of my game or near it, and I read the obituaries. I know a lot of people my age bracket are passing away.”
He wants to have time to travel with his wife while he is still healthy. At 68 years old, he said, “I’ve been very blessed, very fortunate.”
While he will be traveling, Carter isn’t ready to fully retire yet. He plans on being a substitute judge in the surrounding counties.
Another reason Carter has chosen to retire now instead of in the middle of another term is that he doesn’t want his replacement to be chosen by the governor.
By retiring at the end of his term, he knows his replacement will be Steven J. Geise, who ran unopposed in the Nov. 4 election and who Carter approves of. Carter said it makes for a smoother transition for his staff than if an unfamiliar judge were to be appointed. Geise will be sworn in on Monday, Dec. 29 in the municipal courtroom.
Handing out fines and sentencing people to jail as a judge might not sound like the most fun job, but Carter saw his work differently. He saw his job as a municipal court judge as, “a chance to make a difference in people’s lives and maybe take the sting out of some of it.”
He said he tried to show compassion for the people who came into his court. If they were first offenders that made a mistake, he would say, “You probably won’t be back here again.” For those who he believed didn’t just make a mistake, Carter said, “Frankly, they need to be in jail because they’re not getting the message.”
Some of Carter’s more memorable court cases include a man, Carter said, who ran an electric cord from his garage to his neighbor’s house without informing his neighbor. The man used his neighbor’s electricity to run power equipment in his garage. When the neighbor noticed a huge spike in his electric bill he called the police. The police discovered the electric cord and followed it to the neighbor’s garage. When confronted, the neighbor said it was OK because they were neighbors.
Another unexpected case was about a man who had a timber rattlesnake for a pet. Wildlife officers were somehow informed of the man’s pet and confiscated the snake as it was designated an endangered species in Ohio. The man had to forfeit the snake and pay a fine.
Carter dealt with misdemeanors, which are considered low level criminal offenses. He said he saw lots of people with minor injuries such as black eyes and little cuts and bruises. He also handled bar room brawls, trespassing, shoplifting, driving under the influence and verbal threats
Carter is happy with how efficiently his courtroom ran and how well the people he worked with do their jobs. He said he has a lot of respect for them.
“I think some of these bailiffs would take a bullet for me if they had to,” he said. “They are that dedicated.”
Carter will be going to San Antonio, Texas in March and visit a law school classmate, then in September, he will visit Italy with Holy Angels Rev. John Tonkin. They plan on getting to see the pope make an appearance.