Judge Stephen Thomas, who serves as the judge for the Siloam Springs District Court, will retire after 35 years.
Thomas served as Siloam Springs municipal judge from 1985 until a change in state law made him a Benton County District Court Judge in 2008. Thomas still served on the bench in Siloam Springs, but in a different capacity.
The idea of the change in state law was to create some independence from city administrations who fund the court and may put pressure on the court to raise money such as imposing speed traps, Thomas said.
Since becoming a district judge, Thomas serves in parts of Bentonville, Gentry and Rogers as well as Siloam Springs, he said.
There are four district court judges in Benton County, each with a home court, Thomas said. The four areas that have district courts are Bentonville; Benton County West (a series of small towns north of Siloam Springs which include Decatur, Gentry and Gravette); Rogers and Siloam Springs, Thomas said.
The four district judges work in their home courts as well as several smaller courts when cases go before a district judge, Thomas said. The judge also does civil work in Rogers and the smaller communities of western Benton County, he said. Those are just some of the responsibilities Thomas has overseen during a career that spans decades.
Early years
Thomas did not grow up in Siloam Springs. He was born and raised in Rapid City, S.D., and went to high school in McLean, Va. When he was younger, Thomas would vacation in Siloam Springs where his grandparents owned the old Lake Francis resort, Thomas said. Lake Francis was even named after Thomas' mother, he said.
The hotel, which closed in 1971, was known for having some famous guests, including musicians Bob Wills and Hank Williams Sr. who spent the honeymoon for his second marriage there, Thomas said.
After graduating from high school, Thomas went to Yale University, where he obtained his undergraduate degree in divinity and the University of Virginia for law school, he said. When asked what led Thomas to study law, he said it was so long ago he did not remember.
Thomas said he was led to Siloam Springs because he was able to stay at the family farmhouse for free. He also had spent so much time in Siloam Springs during the summer when he was younger that he loved the town.
Thomas started practicing in Siloam Springs after taking the bar exam and opened his law firm across the street from Arvest Bank on University Street, he said. Seven years later he was tapped to become a municipal court judge, Thomas said. A year later he moved his law office from University Street to Broadway Street across from the old post office (now occupied by Phat Tire Bicycle Shop), Thomas said.
On the bench
Thomas' court has two different divisions: civil and criminal. Civil cases involve contract cases and property damage cases where the controversy is less than $25,000, Thomas said. The criminal portion involves traffic and misdemeanor cases, he said.
Along with the two divisions there is a separate small claims division which is the same as contract and property damage, but has a limit of $5,000, Thomas said.
The most memorable case Thomas oversaw was a person charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), Thomas said. The defense the person used was that he had just gotten out of the hospital and given a medication he took before leaving the hospital when he stopped off and got a doughnut, Thomas said.
"His defense was that this medication he took caused carbohydrates (from the doughnut) to turn into alcohol," Thomas said.
Prosecutor John Dodge wanted to test the theory and the judge indulged Dodge, Thomas said. They went back to the police department which was in the same building as the court at the time and the person charged with the DWI ate two or three doughnuts, then waited 15 minutes.
When the experiment began, the person blew zero on the breathalyzer and after eating the doughnuts, he blew a 0.12 breath alcohol concentration (BAC) level on the breathalyzer, Thomas said. The legal limit for adults in Arkansas is 0.08 BAC or below, according to state law.
Looking towards retirement
Thomas said he decided not to seek reelection this year because of age and health concerns. He has Glaucoma, an eye disease, which makes it difficult to read and he believes it's time to let younger folks take over, he said.
With retirement coming in just a few weeks, Thomas has already planned what he wants to do to enjoy his golden years. While he won't be hearing cases, Thomas will still be involved with the law to a small extent by working with the Mayo Law Firm.
"I've been invited by the Mayo Law Firm to join as Of Counsel," Thomas said. "That's a designation for older guys who join, so I'll be doing some legal work, but not much, principally related to contracts and will planning."
Thomas said he has 50 years of journals to go through and indulge in his hobbies, which include reading and playing guitar with local musicians.
He plays Acoustic, Blues, Folk and soft rock and also plays a ukulele in a band every so often. With the coronavirus, Thomas has not been able to get together with his fellow musicians, but hopes that will change soon.
The judge's main hobby is raising Peonies with his best friend from college, Henry Chotkowski. Chotkowski married a woman from the area and lives in Fayetteville, Thomas said. He said he has been lucky to have learned much from Chotkowski about raising Peonies.
"South of town where I live, I have approximately 2,000 to 3,000 plants and Henry has that many as well," Thomas said. "We would dig these holes, filter the rocks out and put fresher dirt in there and plant the flowers. Mostly we just raise them."
Thomas also plans to spend time with the various friends he's made throughout his time in Siloam Springs.
Thanks from a grateful judge
The judge did not have any advice for his replacement, Judge A.J. Anglin, who takes over in January, but he did want to give thanks to everyone he worked with over the years. Chief on Thomas' list of gratitude is to Court Clerk Sandy Luetjen. Luetjen has been the court clerk since 1992 and plans on retiring in a few weeks also.
"We've been a team," Thomas said. "I am so deeply grateful to her for the many years of service. At times she's been my conscience. She is so respectful of the people that we serve."
Thomas credited Luetjen for setting the tone of the court in a way, Thomas said, he could not have done. The retiring judge also thanked the rest of the staff at the court building saying he's been lucky to have wonderful staff over the years as well as Dodge and current Prosecutor David Bailey.
The judge also thanked others associated with the court such as the Siloam Springs Police Department as well as the community itself.
"I am grateful to the town and the people," Thomas said. "It's been a great life."