Judge Skar reflects on career

Tuesday, Oct. 2 marks the final day the Honorable Judge Robert E. Skar will serve as a District Judge of the Fifth Judicial District.

Skar announced his retirement in June, and earlier this month Governor Matthew Mead chose to appoint Bobbi Overfield to fill the vacancy. Overfield will see cases in Hot Springs District Court Oct. 15, with her official robing ceremony set for Thursday, Nov. 8 at 3 p.m.

This year also marks Skar's 40th as a practicing attorney, having earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Wyoming in 1978. He entered private practice in Casper in 1982 and practiced in Thermopolis before becoming the Hot Springs County and prosecuting attorney from 1991-99.

He also served a year as a judge in Big Horn County, noting he was one the first and last county court judges there. He explained Big Horn County used a Justice of the Peace system before moving to a county court system in 1999. The change lasted only a year, as in 2000 the county moved to a circuit court system. Hot Springs and Washakie counties followed suit, and in 2000 Skar moved into the position of Fifth Judicial District Circuit Court Judge. Eight years later, Gov. Dave Freudenthal appointed Skar the Fifth Judicial District Court Judge to replace Judge Gary Hartman.

A district judge since 2008, Skar said one of the most enjoyable things he has gotten to do is adoptions, bringing families together rather than tearing them apart due to divorce. The hardest thing for him, he said, has been to sentence those who have done rotten things but those things are not their entire being. He explained people can get drunk or stoned and do some terrible things, even killing people, but those things are not their whole lives.

In his experience, he's heard cases from first-degree murders to small claims, but noted the difference between district court and circuit court is the complexity. For example, he said, in circuit court there might be several people filing back and forth in regard to what should be done with an estate. In such cases, a judge has to make sure all the concepts are spoken about and apply the law to them. Such proceedings, he said, could take five days worth of time.

With regard to his office staff, Skar noted the Fifth Judicial District covers three counties - Hot Springs, Washakie and Big Horn - and said he has had terrific luck with the people he's worked with.

One who's worked with him for several years is Clerk of the District Court Terri Cornella, who came to work with the county attorney's office in 1990. "I was Crime Victim Advocate, and Dan Massey was the county attorney then. In 1991, Massey retired from the position and Judge Skar was appointed."

Cornella has a lot of good memories of working with Judge Skar. "He has the best sense of humor," she said. "Even as my direct supervisor in the county attorney's office he was just really good to work for."

Cornella noted one not-so-funny memory was when Steve Shay told her the judge had a heart attack. She though he was joking, but he wasn't. "But for as bad a heart he had," she said, "he has a really good heart."

Knowing how observant he is, Cornella tested him by having a magnetic cone attached to her nose. However, Skar turned it around on her by not mentioning the cone, causing Cornella to have it on all day, waiting for him to say something.

While Skar was county attorney, Cornella recalled him telling her she sounded like she was destroying the keyboard and calling out the names of bands that came on the radio. There was also an incident when Skar, his wife and Cornella's youngest son teamed up and put a life size cardboard cutout of Eddie Valiant in the coffee room to scare her.

Cornella also spoke to Skar's hobbies, including gardening, and noted he is very creative and into making stained glass items and jewelry.

Skar also showed compassion and consideration in the courtroom, and made jury selection fun by his joking comments, though Cornella said the court reporter often had to remind him everything he said was part of the court record.

Of course, there are people who didn't agree with his rulings, she noted, but on the whole she believes most people found him fair. He was also very matter-of-fact and took a tremendous amount of notes. He's not someone who goes into a case with his mind already made up, she said, and yet he was also approachable and easy for people to visit with outside court.

Cornella moved to District Court in 2004, four years prior to Skar's becoming a district judge. She noted as a judge he was not the boss over the district court, but their previous employer-employee relationship helped in their new positions. She'll miss just going to him for his advice on things she was unsure how a judge would feel.

"It's going to be a big pair of shoes to fill," Cornella said.

Skar offered some advice for Overfield as she comes into being a judge, including remaining calm, not reacting and always remaining dignified in the courtroom, which can sometimes be hard. He noted she is capable of doing all of these things, but the biggest thing is to listen, as everyone who comes before the judge has a right to be heard.

As for his retirement plans, Skar noted his wife, Rhonda, retired a few years ago as a teacher and the couple bought a motorhome. Though Thermopolis will remain home to them, they plan to spend plenty of time touring the country with their dogs.