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County's first elected female superior court judge sworn in
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Ed Honda/Wick News Zack Shisslak, left, along with his brother, Erik Shisslak, and sister, Sara Shisslak, help put the judge's robe on their mother, Ann Littrell, who will be the Cochise County Superior Court judge for Division 4, during a ceremony at the Cochise County Courthouse in Bisbee, Tuesday, Dec. 28. Littrell is the first woman to be elected as a Superior Court judge in the county. |
By MICHAEL SULLIVAN/Wick News Service
Ann Littrell's place in Cochise County history was assured last Tuesday afternoon when she put on the black robe of a Superior Court judge, officially becoming the county's first elected female judge.
Littrell, a Douglas native, defeated incumbent Judge Charles Irwin for the Division 4 bench in the Nov. 2 General Election.
Division 4 is Juvenile Court and handles delinquency and dependency - abused and neglected children - cases, as well as severance and adoption matters.
Other women have served on the bench as appointees. None were elected.
After being helped on with her robe by her three children, Erik, Sara and Zack Shisslak, Littrell faced a smiling audience that spilled out from the Division 2 courtroom into the hallway and adjacent jury room.
About 75 people, many of them county officials, friends and relatives, filled the venue for the occasion.
With family members seated next to her in the jury box, Littrell said she was there because of her family, especially her father. Her dad was a longtime teacher and principal in Douglas, Littrell said, and was known for his ability to listen, having high expectations, a sense of firmness and fairness. These are qualities she plans to take into the courtroom.
"Investiture comes laden with packages," Littrell said. "Duty, obligation, authority, power and responsibility."
Looking at her new robe, Littrell noted the robes worn by English jurists were once made of heavy wool.
"This is lightweight," she said, "but bears a heavy responsibility."
Following her short talk, she was sworn in to office by Presiding Judge Tom Collins and then surrounded by her colleagues on the bench, Superior Court judges Wallace Hoggatt and James Conlogue and Justice of the Peace Jimmy Judd from Benson. Division 2 Superior Court Judge Stephen Desens was out of town.
Clerk of the Courts Denise Lundin then presented the new judge with her "symbolic first case."
An attorney for 25 years, Littrell began working in Legal Aid on the Apache Reservation, then went into private practice in Pinetop. She returned to Cochise County as the county's public fiduciary for five years before returning to private practice in Bisbee.
She was hired as the city of Douglas attorney but decided to leave the office when the city mandated that all city employees had to live in Douglas. She was then hired by the county attorney's office, representing the county's public school districts and employment law issues. She also served as a probate commissioner in Superior Court about seven years ago through an appointment.
Deputy County Attorney John MacKinnon opened the investiture ceremony by recounting his 25-year friendship with Littrell, which began on the Apache Reservation in Tuba City. A number of excellent attorneys had assembled there, MacKinnon recalled, but "her resume really stood out."
She graduated with honors from the University of Arizona, where she had majored in journalism and had served a Fulbright Fellowship in Sweden.
They were reunited in Bisbee several years later, when Littrell became the public fiduciary.
"She got the office in excellent order," MacKinnon said.
Littrell then joined the county attorney's office, where MacKinnon was the lone civil attorney.
"She came in and bailed us out," he said.
"Ann has really exemplified what a public attorney should be," MacKinnon said. "We are certainly going to miss her presence, her wisdom and legal ability."
(Editor's Note: Michael Sullivan is a reporter for the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
Littrell, a Douglas native, defeated incumbent Judge Charles Irwin for the Division 4 bench in the Nov. 2 General Election.
Division 4 is Juvenile Court and handles delinquency and dependency - abused and neglected children - cases, as well as severance and adoption matters.
Other women have served on the bench as appointees. None were elected.
After being helped on with her robe by her three children, Erik, Sara and Zack Shisslak, Littrell faced a smiling audience that spilled out from the Division 2 courtroom into the hallway and adjacent jury room.
About 75 people, many of them county officials, friends and relatives, filled the venue for the occasion.
With family members seated next to her in the jury box, Littrell said she was there because of her family, especially her father. Her dad was a longtime teacher and principal in Douglas, Littrell said, and was known for his ability to listen, having high expectations, a sense of firmness and fairness. These are qualities she plans to take into the courtroom.
"Investiture comes laden with packages," Littrell said. "Duty, obligation, authority, power and responsibility."
Looking at her new robe, Littrell noted the robes worn by English jurists were once made of heavy wool.
"This is lightweight," she said, "but bears a heavy responsibility."
Following her short talk, she was sworn in to office by Presiding Judge Tom Collins and then surrounded by her colleagues on the bench, Superior Court judges Wallace Hoggatt and James Conlogue and Justice of the Peace Jimmy Judd from Benson. Division 2 Superior Court Judge Stephen Desens was out of town.
Clerk of the Courts Denise Lundin then presented the new judge with her "symbolic first case."
An attorney for 25 years, Littrell began working in Legal Aid on the Apache Reservation, then went into private practice in Pinetop. She returned to Cochise County as the county's public fiduciary for five years before returning to private practice in Bisbee.
She was hired as the city of Douglas attorney but decided to leave the office when the city mandated that all city employees had to live in Douglas. She was then hired by the county attorney's office, representing the county's public school districts and employment law issues. She also served as a probate commissioner in Superior Court about seven years ago through an appointment.
Deputy County Attorney John MacKinnon opened the investiture ceremony by recounting his 25-year friendship with Littrell, which began on the Apache Reservation in Tuba City. A number of excellent attorneys had assembled there, MacKinnon recalled, but "her resume really stood out."
She graduated with honors from the University of Arizona, where she had majored in journalism and had served a Fulbright Fellowship in Sweden.
They were reunited in Bisbee several years later, when Littrell became the public fiduciary.
"She got the office in excellent order," MacKinnon said.
Littrell then joined the county attorney's office, where MacKinnon was the lone civil attorney.
"She came in and bailed us out," he said.
"Ann has really exemplified what a public attorney should be," MacKinnon said. "We are certainly going to miss her presence, her wisdom and legal ability."
(Editor's Note: Michael Sullivan is a reporter for the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review.)
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