This is the sixth of our Court Times articles that highlight up close and personal a member of the Indiana Judiciary. LaPorte Superior Court Judge William J. Boklund is our judge featured in this issue. Judge Boklund was first appointed as Superior Court Judge in 1993, elected in 1996 and re-elected in 2002 and 2008. He graduated from Purdue University, with distinction, in 1973, and received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Valparaiso University in 1977. He was in private practice and served as a LaPorte County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney from 1977 until his appointment to the bench in 1993. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Indiana Judicial Conference. Judge Boklund received a Master’s Certificate from the Indiana Judicial College in 2008 and produced a power point audio/video presentation, “A Grandmother, Free Speech, and the Train Ride that Changed America.”
What do you like most, and least, about being a trial court judge?
I love the interesting stories and thorny legal issues that real life presents. No one could dream up some of the things I have seen and heard in court. I also appreciate having the opportunity to work with fellow judges on committees and on the Board of Directors. It is gratifying to play even a very small part in the evolution and direction of our state’s law and legal system.
On the other hand lawyers and litigants who interrupt or over-talk their opponents as a substitute for out reasoning them are my least favorite thing.
What was your major at Purdue University and why did you decide to study law?
I majored in English literature and minored in Business. I was the only one of my kind at that time. My advisor thought I was crazy. I have been interested in law since first grade, when I would run home from school to watch a TV show called Divorce Court. I did not know what lawyers were, but I really enjoyed watching them cross examine witnesses. My grandmother, who lived with us, thought I had a character flaw. Maybe she was right, but I ended up on this side of the bench, and I hope she would have approved of that.
What would you do if you were not a judge?
I’d probably teach law full time. If I had not become an attorney, I probably would have been a medieval literature professor.
Who are the people you most admire?
My late, high school track coach, who demanded much of me and got more from me than I thought I had, and one of my English professors who did the same thing with academics. Those two changed my life.
What are your hobbies or favorite leisure activities?
I like exercise, most often tennis, aerobics or weight lifting. I also love to fly fish. The fish I pursue generally live in beautiful, quiet places, and fly fishing requires an uncluttered mind. To catch a fish, you must pay full attention to the fly. If you think of anything else, you risk missing a possible strike. It is a Zen experience whether you want it or not.
I also have a passion for legal and constitutional history. It is replete with heroes and villains and people who blur the line between them. The legal doctrines we rely on are the bi-products of the human experience and courage of those who forged them. Knowing their experiences gives deeper meaning to doctrine and sometimes moral support to a judge who faces one of those cases that tests the bounds of ethics, justice, and commitment to the rule of law.
What are your favorite books and have you read any recently, or are reading now, that you would recommend?
My recommendations here are for American legal history buffs. One of my favorite books is The Forgotten Memoir of John Knox. Knox served as law clerk for perhaps the most despicable person ever to sit on the United States Supreme Court. Justice J. C. McReynolds was so disliked by his colleagues that not a single, living justice attended his funeral. Even so, Knox was not judgmental in his presentation. He lets the reader form conclusions about the Justice. He also reveals a glimpse into the personal side of the other justices who served that Court with McReynolds.
I am reading a book now entitled FDR v. The Constitution, which provides a look at the battle over the meaning of the Constitution, the issue of court packing, and the independence of the Supreme Court during the crisis of the Great Depression. Unlike some historians, the author breathes life into the story and keeps the reader turning pages. If you like the subject, this one is worth reading.
Where did you grow up and how would you describe your childhood?
I grew up in LaPorte, Indiana, about one half block from a marsh and about a quarter mile from a lake. As a middle child, I did not suffer the close scrutiny my siblings did, so I was able to spend a lot of time with my friends around the water, riding my bike, at the ball diamond or on the basketball court. I lived with great parents, great siblings and a wise, old grandmother who told many stories. To me, it was a Norman Rockwell painting.
Do you have a favorite quote(s)?
I have two favorite quotes. The first is “When you are up to your neck in alligators it is sometimes difficult to remember that the objective is to drain the swamp.” The second is drawn from the Rudyard Kipling poem “If”, and is engraved over the players’ entrance to Centre Court at Wimbledon. “If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.” I find myself often leaning heavily on both.
Where is your favorite vacation spot?
My favorite spots are tending my backyard water garden in summer, watching a fly on any quiet stream or lake at sunset, or any place with my family.
What is your favorite meal/recipe/restaurant?
My favorite “restaurant” is in my home. My wife Cathy prepares better meals than any I have ever tasted in any restaurant, period. It takes a great deal of self-discipline to not gain weight at my house. I also enjoy the Eagle’s Nest and Buca di Beppo in Indianapolis, both for their food and ambiance, obviously for different reasons.