This is the fifteenth of our Court Times articles that highlight—up close and personal—a member of the Indiana Judiciary. Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Ted R. Todd is our judge featured in this issue. Following his graduation from Duke University Law School in 1964, he maintained a general law practice in Madison and Vevay, serving a few years as a deputy prosecutor, many years as a public defender, some years as county attorney, a number of years as a trustee in bankruptcy, a number of years as attorney for the Town of Hanover, all part time and in addition to his law practice. Judge Todd was elected to the bench as Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge in November, 1988, and has served in that capacity continuously since January 1, 1989. Judge Todd served on the Indiana State Board of Law Examiners from 1989 to 1998. He was also on the District 12 Pro Bono Committee from 1995 to 2005. Judge Todd and his wife Marni were married in 1964 and have three grown children.
Where did you grow up and how would you describe your childhood?
I grew up in Three Rivers, Michigan, a small town about twenty-five miles south of Kalamazoo. I was the oldest of three boys. My mother was a Registered Nurse and my father a carpenter and contractor. We had a cottage at nearby Corey Lake where we spent most summers and two winters. It was a happy childhood. I learned to swim when I was four.
I became intrigued with the law when our family got involved in a silly yet bitter line fence dispute with our neighbors at the lake. It was the first time I realized there were jobs where you could read, write, talk, and make a living doing so.
At an early age my brothers and I began working with our dad building houses. By the 10th grade it was obvious to both my father and I that my future probably belonged in some other craft. In the 11th grade I got a job after school working in retail clothing, and kept that job through my senior year. Then, seeing an ad in the paper, I applied for and got a dream job for the summer as a line boy at the local airport. I was paid half in money and half in flying lessons. I worked six days a week and got to take flying lessons on my day off. I soloed a plane (a tail-dragger) when I was seventeen.
What was your major in college and why did you decide to study law?
When I entered Wabash College in the fall of 1957, my first faculty advisor, Dr. Wendell Calkins, helped me decide, and I ended up with a major in English Literature and a minor in Philosophy.
I found philosophy the most helpful for law school for one simple reason: many of the great philosophers had important matters to teach, but to the uninitiated it didn’t seem they explained their thoughts very clearly. When I went to Duke Law School (a beneficiary of geographical affirmative action) I learned the same was true of much legal writing. Having already learned that you usually have to read something more than once or twice to really understand what the author is saying, I was able to put that training to good use.
One thing that most English Literature majors have in common is a belief that life is often more easily understood through a series of stories than it is by the use of calculations and measuring devices. I find this view works well with the law, especially as it is practiced in the trial courtroom. Most cases are like short stories, hinging on a few apparently coincidental events that affect the parties; how the parties react to those events tells the tale.
What would you do if you were not a judge?
At times in my life I have wanted to become a cowboy, an architect, an airline pilot, and a professor of English Literature. My present pipe dream is, when I am no longer a judge, to rent a small office in downtown Madison with the words, “Ted Todd – Philosopher – Hours by Appointment” on the door. At one time, like many English majors, I fancied writing The Great American Novel. Reality has set in on that one. I might, however, take a stab at The Great American Haiku. It appears nothing much has been done in that area since Ezra Pound.
What do you like most and least about being a trial court judge?
I enjoy both jury trials and bench trials, watching the story develop and trying to discover what testimony provides wheat and what chaff. Not always an easy task, but I think most of us get better at it with practice.
I dislike the reality of being often rushed, and am frustrated that we many times lack the time or resources to adequately get the whole story and the best answer. I also find the administrative tasks that go with the job to be not only time consuming, but tedious.
Who are the people you most admire?
My parents, by the value they placed on working with pride at your craft, whatever that craft may be, and how important that is to a person’s self worth. This was taught more by example than by precept.
In history, I admire the founders of our republic; in law, Abraham Lincoln; and in fiction, Atticus Finch.
What are your hobbies or favorite leisure activities, and how did you first get involved?
Learning to fly as a young person made that something I enjoyed for many years. However, it is something you need to do with great regularity in order to maintain the proficiency required to do it safely. Lacking the time to do that, I gave it up at about the same time our three children became too large to sit together in our plane’s back seat.
I was about forty when the local newspaper decided to sponsor a 10K foot race in connection with the Madison Regatta weekend. I then began a six month training program, adding a mile a month, and finishing. No winner’s laurel wreath, but not last either. Many races followed over many years, including four marathons between ages fifty-one and sixty-three. I now run only slightly faster than I walk, but age has allowed me to accept that pace.
My present hobby is finding out what funny things my seven grandchildren have done recently. Once, when my wife Marni told one of them that grandpa thought something they had done was funny, she replied, “Grandpa thinks everything we do is funny.” True.
What are your favorite books, and have you read any recently, or are reading now, that you would recommend?
I enjoy reading almost anything in American history, and you can seldom go wrong working through a good list of “Classics.” There is usually a good reason a book is called a classic.
I recently read all of the Harry Potter books, made necessary in order to keep up with a couple of my grandchildren. I found these stories, like Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird, to be great reads for both children and adults.
Another recently read book I strongly recommend is The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. Like many good novels, it gives insight into another culture while at the same time affirming the universality of the human condition.
What are your favorite vacation spots?
The Outer Banks of North Carolina and Paris, France.
Do you have a favorite meal, recipe, and restaurant?
No particular favorite, but I am proud of my ability to make good chili on a cold fall or winter day.
Do you have any favorite quotes?
Three come quickly to mind:
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.
—Albert Einstein
You’ll do fine as a judge if you just remember one thing: you’re only playing a different role in this comic opera.
—Judge Joe Hensley
My predecessor in title, former law partner, and good friend
People find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than for being right.
—Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster at Hogwarts, Harry Potter’s School