Judge Herman Barber '63, A Local "Institution," Stepping Down from Bench

March 31, 2003

March 31, 2003, Greencastle, Ind. - "After nearly three decades on the bench, City Judge Herman Barber can hardly walk around the downtown square without being spotted by someone from his judicial past," writes Casey Newton in the Times of Northwest Indiana of Barber, a 1963 graduate of DePauw University, who has decided not to seek an eighth term as city judge of Crown Point. "People will come up to me on the street and say, 'Hey, I (appeared) in front of you,'" Barber tells the newspaper. "I don't know whether to smile or duck."

Newton writes, "Barber didn't always want to be a judge. He earned a bachelor's degree at DePauw University in Greencastle, and as he completed his law degree at Valparaiso University, he considered starting a title company or doing corporate work. Instead, in 1966 he opened an estate planning and family law practice. Ten years later he decided to run for judge as a Republican. 'I grew up in Crown Point, and Crown Point is a good place to live,' he said. 'I don't like to use the word 'duty,' but I felt like I wanted to return something to the town. I got a lot out of growing up here, and I just wanted to return some of the benefit that I'd received.'"

The newspaper states, "Barber became as much a fixture in the city's legal community as the Old Lake County Courthouse itself. One trademark: He doesn't wear robes while on the bench. He said he wants to show that he is no different from the men and women who appear before him." Judge Barber has faced few serious election challenges over the years. Pat Schuster, a Democrat who is in the running to replace the retiring judge, says he never would have considered challenging Barber. "It was an exercise in futility to run against him. He's decided to step down, and I think that was the best way for him to go -- it was probably the only way for him to go. He's an institution."