Judge Franks: Jurist set example worthy of emulation
The cancer death of retired President Judge William J. Franks prematurely robbed Fayette County of one of the most decent, accomplished and dedicated men to ever preside over one of its courtrooms. Known for his soft-spoken and fair-minded manner – traits displayed on and off the bench – the affable Franks seamlessly combined a common man’s touch with a brilliant legal mind, serving as a beacon of proper decorum and a good steward of the public trust in an office where others haven’t always lived up to those billings. This son of a coal miner and a devout Catholic, who ascended to the bench in 1978, retired in 2002 as president judge and served the past three years as senior judge, spent nearly 25 of his 73 years in those capacities. Franks did nothing personally or professionally to leave a stain on or around the position he held.
His legacy of behavior stands as a model for judicial conduct, one that others who don the black rob would do well to emulate.
Franks was a man of vast legal knowledge, practicing law for more than 20 years before embarking on his judicial career. He also had military training and experience, serving in the Judge Advocate General’s Office of the U.S. Army. But he remained a humble, approachable, non-threatening figure, treating everyone on the ladder of life equally, regardless of power, influence or perceived status.
More importantly, Franks had a well-deserved reputation for being a good judge, one who displayed patience and compassion, and more critically took an even-handed approach. Justice is, after all,supposed to be blind, meaning that everyone theoretically gets a fair shake. That’s not always true, as local and national cases have illustrated, but one got the innate impression that in Franks’ courtroom “justice for all” was more than a catchy slogan.
The county lost once a few years back when the state-mandated retirement age drove Franks from regular duty. It lost again last week when the cancer he’d largely kept private rendered its final verdict.
Men like Franks are hard to find these days. They’re even more difficult to replace.