Jerry Buchmeyer, District Judge of the Northern District of Texas, who just completed his seven-year term as Chief Judge, was appointed to the federal bench in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter. Prior to his judicial appointment, he worked as a civil litigator at the law firm of Thompson & Knight L.L.P.

"I have the best job in the legal profession," Judge Buchmeyer said.

What makes his job so rewarding is the opportunity he has to observe a wide variety of both civil and criminal cases. Although his courtroom is located in Dallas, he enjoys traveling to and presiding over cases in Lubbock, Abilene, San Angelo, Amarillo, and Wichita Falls.

"It’s fun to get out of the courthouse, go to other places, and see different lawyers," he said.

Judge Buchmeyer has four children and six grandchildren. In his leisure time, he enjoys reading and writing. Writing "et cetera" his humor column for the Texas Bar Journal, is his form of therapy. If he were forced to change professions, Judge Buchmeyer would become a writer. He is a self-described "book nut." When he tries cases in Wichita Falls, he loves to travel to nearby Archer City and sift through the four used book stores owned by Larry McMurtry.

"It is just fascinating to go through the books," he said.

He also enjoys being a judge for the Dallas Bar Association’s Stephen Philbin Awards for Excellence in Legal Reporting. These awards recognize outstanding and informative newspaper, magazine, radio, and television works covering the legal system. His involvement with the awards has given him the opportunity to meet and mingle with many people who share his passion for writing.

The most challenging aspect of his job is sentencing. He recalled a recent case involving a young male immigrant charged with illegal re-entry into the United States. During the sentencing, the young man told Judge Buchmeyer that his family was starving and that he had no choice but to enter the United States. After sentencing individuals such as the young immigrant, he says, "I’ll usually go home and be a vegetable for the rest of the day."

His compassion was also evident in the Fall of 1998, when he allowed a trial involving alleged civil rights violations to be conducted at Southern Methodist University’s School of Law. The plaintiff, a disabled man, was represented by SMU law students working in the Civil Clinic. He allowed the trial to be conducted at SMU because the law school had more suitable wheelchair accommodations than the courthouse. He allowed every interested student (including the author of this article) the opportunity to view the entire trial. Much was learned by watching the trial and sharing the experience made for an unforgettable law school memory.

He encourages young lawyers to seek out mentors and encourages more experienced attorneys to mentor young attorneys. When he was a young attorney, Judge Buchmeyer worked very closely with one of his mentors, William H. Neary, who taught him valuable information about practicing law. The most rewarding aspect of mentoring for Judge Buchmeyer is "watching young lawyers develop into good lawyers."

Judge Buchmeyer’s courtroom pet peeves are lawyers who ask repetitive questions and lawyers who remain seated at the counsel table while questioning witnesses.

In his opinion, the most effective trial lawyers are those who are not artificial. His advice to young trial lawyers is to "be yourself" and never talk down to the jury during opening and closing arguments. He also advises young lawyers to avoid arguing with witnesses.

"Unless the witness turns out to be really unlikable, the jury will hold it against the lawyer. And even in that case, you don’t need to argue to make a point," he said.

Unlike many federal judges, Judge Buchmeyer encourages the lawyers in his courtroom to talk to the members of the jury after the verdict.

"I’ve learned from juries over the years that they have a good sense of who’s a good lawyer and who's a bad lawyer," he said.

Judge Buchmeyer believes that this communication with jurors will help lawyers learn their strengths and weaknesses.

Lawyers who have practiced in his court know that he is a kind and patient man who provides a fair forum. Lawyers who have not practiced in his court know him through his stress relieving humor column. Judge Buchmeyer's favorite letter came from an "et cetera" enthusiast who wrote: "Right after I read the obituary to see if any of my friends died, I read your column."