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She took the day off to read a book on her back porch.
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Winona District Court Judge Margaret Shaw Johnson relaxes while reading a book Thursday on the patio of her Pickwick home. "I always have two books going. I read non-fiction in the morning and fiction at night." says the avid reader who plans to spend more time reading as well as cooking, traveling and volunteering in the arts. Judge Johnson retires Tuesday after 21 years in the Third Judicial District.
(Photo by Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News) |
It takes her a long time to finish a book, she said, because she loves words and likes to linger over them.
The constant reader — she usually has two books going at the same time — will finally have all reading time she wants.
After 21 years on the judge’s bench in both Houston and Winona counties, Johnson is stepping down Tuesday.
She does so with no regrets, except that she leaves the Winona County District Courthouse in the midst of financial crisis. One position has been eliminated, vacancies are not being filled and Court Administration services are closed to the public Wednesday mornings — all because of a potential multimillion-dollar budget cut to the state judicial system expected from the Legislature this year.
The system is being asked to do more with a stagnant budget, officials say.
Upon Johnson’s departure, Winona County will be left with one less judge than it needs to function properly, and a replacement will not be named until after Gov. Tim Pawlenty interviews three candidates in June, Judicial Appointments Coordinator John Hultquist said.
That’s likely to leave Winona County with a backlog of cases and significant delays, a situation Judge Jeff Thompson has said could become “draconian.”
Johnson, 62, is worried about the “very dire situation” the courts are in and isn’t comfortable leaving under those circumstances. It would be just as easy to stay, she said, but it was her decision — made long ago — to leave when she was still young enough to enjoy retirement. Plus, “Everybody leaves sometime,” she said.
“I don’t like to leave my colleagues and a system that I value so much in such a precarious situation,” she said.
But Johnson is also looking forward to what she expects to be a newfound freedom: not being a slave to the clock and a doorbell that calls her to the courtroom every 15 minutes or so.
“My world is probably going to fall apart,” she said with a laugh. Without a routine and a strict schedule, retirement might actually be a challenge to get anything accomplished, she said.
‘I hate conflict’
But Johnson is used to challenges. She never set out to be a judge. Or a lawyer, for that matter. Writing was her profession of choice when she studied advertising at the University of Minnesota’s journalism school.
After she returned from a five-year hiatus in Italy — where she married her husband, Bruce — she found it hard to find work. So, she went to law school.
There’s a natural progression from literary professions into law, she said, because both fields are very intellectual and very precise. Working behind the scenes as a law clerk, Johnson fell in love with the problem solving, solitary, studious environment and got her first inkling of becoming a judge.
On April 30, 1987, she was appointed to a judge vacancy in Houston County and moved to Winona County when Judge S.A. Sawyer retired three years later.
She’s been here ever since.
Being a judge is a fulfilling job for Johnson. She joked about hating conflict while being in one of the most conflicted places in the world: the courtroom.
“You’ve got two people, two sides, that can’t agree, and somebody has got to call it,” she said. “As much as possible, I put the conflict to rest. And I make the world calmer, at least for a little while.”
Johnson said the work is never dull, and she’s anxious to get to work every day — weekends included. While the job is always interesting, it has more than its fair share of tragedy. Cases of sexual assault, violence, child custody and addiction to alcohol and drugs are almost daily occurrences. With Johnson’s enthusiasm and work ethic, she sometimes has struggled to leave that tragedy where it belonged: at work.
“In the early years, I didn’t sleep,” she said. “I had to learn to discipline my mind so that I could actually not think about things after a certain point.”
She trained herself using landmarks on the drive home to block the day’s cases from her mind. But even with the tragedy and the difficult, daily decisions, Johnson said she’s had a wonderful career and doesn’t regret a minute of it. Save for one.
“The only minute I’m going to regret is the one that I have to leave,” she said.
Serious yet mischievous
Johnson is a no-nonsense kind of judge, not easily shaken. She didn’t bat an eye when she once found a bat in her shoe, Court Administrator Sally Cumiskey said. She remains calm in all situations and never raises her voice, Assistant Winona County Attorney Nancy Bostrack said.
Johnson describes herself as a very thoughtful judge who never makes a final decision about a case before entering the courtroom. She said she’ll read entire case files and then listen intently to everything both sides are saying, because she’s heavily influenced by what people have to say. Some lawyers have criticized her for taking too long to make a decision, she said.
“I don’t prejudge things,” she said. “I’m very deliberative.”
Although overturned decisions from the Court of Appeals made her anxious as a new judge, Johnson has long since gained confidence in her role as a decision maker and is happy to have someone looking over her shoulder once in a while.
But underneath her hardened exterior, Johnson is a bit of a prankster. You can’t really tell by talking to her, and you would never suspect it after watching her work on the bench, but her friends and coworkers insist she can be a troublemaker.
Case in point:
During her days as a clerk, the courthouse celebrated Judge Lawrence Collins’ birthday by hanging risqué centerfolds in his office, Johnson said. The joke went over very well, but Johnson took it a step or two further, Cumiskey said. She said a little while later, “less tasteful” magazines started turning up. Nobody suspected the innocent, do-no-wrong, Johnson. Cumiskey said Johnson would sit there with a little smile on her face and say, “No one would believe I did it.”
“She’s got a great sense of humor,” she said.
Parting words
Several Winona County employees attended a small reception in Johnson’s courtroom Tuesday afternoon to pass along well wishes and share memories about the judge. They described her as classy, personable, friendly, compassionate, patient and serious. Most people were sad to see her go but excited for her transition into the next stage of her life. The consensus: She will be missed.
“She’s leaving too soon,” said Judge Mary Leahy, a new judge who regrets not having more time to learn from Johnson. “But there’s a distinct pleasure in seeing someone retire and enjoy it.”
“I tried to get her to stay for another four years,” Cumiskey said.
You may still catch Johnson hanging around the courthouse, hearing traffic cases as a retired judge. But she is certainly looking forward to her time off, likening it to a never-ending weekend.
She’ll enjoy gardening, cooking and reading at her farmhouse on 15 secluded acres in Pickwick. She said she would like to take more time to visit with her family, including her two grown sons, Hans and Aran. A little globetrotting is in her future, too. Nothing is set in stone, though she said she would love to go to Istanbul or return to Italy. She also plans to volunteer in the region’s music, theater and art scenes, as well as for the Pickwick Mill just down the street from her home.
But, her immediate goal is to experiment and create a decent tasting gluten-free pizza crust. Diagnosed with celiac disease, Johnson is forced to avoid oats, wheat, barley and rye but still loves to throw pizza parties on her back porch, where she serves homemade pizza out of a wood-fire oven.
“There’s a lot of bad gluten-free cooking out there,” she said. “I want to learn to do it better.”
It’s unclear who will replace Johnson on the bench. Potential candidates include Bostrack, former Senior Assistant Olmsted County Attorney Lisa Swenson, and Rochester lawyer Daniel Heuel. Rather than dispense advice to her potential successors, Johnson wishes them wisdom and expresses her confidence in their ability to fill her shoes.
“I know the candidates for my position, and I think my position will be in very good hands with any one of them,” she said. “I know that every one of them has the integrity to do this job and to do it well.”
Contact Kevin Behr at (507) 453-3524 or at kbehr@winonadailynews.com.
