Waynesburg attorney sworn in as Greene County judge
WAYNESBURG – A standing-room-only crowd packed the Greene County Courthouse Friday afternoon to attend a ceremony in which Waynesburg attorney Farley Toothman was sworn in as new judge of the County Court of Common Pleas. A large number of local and state dignitaries and elected officials, members of the Greene County Bar Association, family and friends attended the investiture ceremony, which included remarks from Commissioner Pam Snyder, state Sen. J. Barry Stout, Waynesburg University President Dr. Timothy Thyreen, retired Judge H. Terry Grimes and President Judge William Nalitz. The state Senate unanimously voted to confirm Toothman’s nomination last week to fill a vacancy on the bench that was opened after Grimes retired as the president judge this past January. The nomination was initially filed by Gov. Edward Rendell.
The Senate confirmed Toothman just hours after the Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to refer his nomination to the Rules and Executive Nominations Committee.
Following Grimes’ retirement, Nalitz was named president judge, while Grimes continues to serve as a part-time senior judge.
Toothman’s appointment runs through January 2012, and he said he plans to run for a full 10-year term in the 2012 municipal elections.
The emotional ceremony was made even more touching by the fact that Toothman is continuing a family tradition by serving on the bench. His father, the late Glenn Toothman Jr., was Greene County’s lone judge for 20 years before he retired. Grimes succeeded him in 1985.
During the ceremony, Toothman took the oath of office and was presented the family Bible, robe and gavel that belonged to his father, who passed away in 2001. He donned the robe after it was blessed by the retired Rev. Dr. David L. Barrett, pastor emeritus of the First Presbyterian Church of Waynesburg.
Grimes presented him with the gavel and remarked, “It is with distinct honor to hand the duties of the courtroom over to Judge Toothman, and it is with great pleasure that I welcome him into the halls of this courthouse.”
Accompanied by his wife, Ingrid, and three of their four children, Toothman addressed the crowd and thanked his family, his father and his mother, Katherine, who was not able to attend due to illness.
“For my parents, today confirms that it is surely upon their shoulders that I stand,” he said. “My mother will be forever the teacher and has always sewn together the fabric of our family…And Dad, as your right hand did so well in your service to oath of this office, I shall now try. If I don’t, then my right hand will also have forgotten our handshake, as father and son.”
Toothman also thanked Stout for his “steadfast loyalty and experienced understanding” of the process that led to his nomination. He also thank the county commissioners and asked the Bar Association to “be kind and tolerant of the change that I am.”
He also addressed his colleagues on the bench, stating, “Judge Grimes has served this court near to perfection as it can be, and it is an honor to follow in his footsteps. He has delivered 23 years of firm and fair opinions of the law.”
He also said he looks forward to “working with and for” Nalitz.
“With his steady direction I shall serve the bench with a non-partisan and singular devotion to the common good of all, of our beloved county,” he said.
The ceremony also included welcoming remarks by Kelly A. Stepp, president of the county Bar Association; the invocation by Rev. William Sukolsky, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Waynesburg; the Pledge of Allegiance by American Legion Post 400; closing remarks by Harry Cancelmi, county public defender; and the benediction by the Rev. Richard Thomason of St. Ann Catholic Church of Waynesburg.
Toothman is no stranger to the law and serving the county as a county official. Along with operating his own private law practice, he served as solicitor for the county and Waynesburg and Greensboro boroughs. He also served two terms as county commissioner, from 1996 to 2003.
He is a graduate of Waynesburg University and Duquesne University’s School of Law.
Toothman is only the second person to fill the second judge’s position in Greene County since it was created. The county had one Common Pleas Court judge until Nalitz was elected as the second judge in 1998.
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(Reporter Steve Ferris contributed to this story.)