Editor's note: This is the first in a weekly feature highlighting members of the Athens legal community.
Many students decide not to return to their hometowns after college, instead choosing to live in a big city.
Judge Leslie Alan Goldsberry left Athens with the same intentions but ended up returning home anyway.
Judge Goldsberry, who goes by L. Alan, instead of Leslie, was born in Athens and attended Athens High School and Ohio University. But after graduating from OU, Goldsberry decided to pursue a law degree at Duke University.
I went out of state to law school because I didn't expect to come back to Ohio
Goldsberry said. I expected to go to a larger city preferably to Washington D.C.
Goldsberry had several out-of-town jobs -he worked at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of State over three summers in Washington, D.C. -but eventually came back to Athens.
Although I didn't plan on coming to Athens ... I came back
he said Goldsberry then worked for his former neighbor, William Lavelle, an Athens attorney, for 17 years before he was appointed to the Athens County Court of Common Pleas in 1986 by then Governor Richard Celeste. Goldsberry took office on Jan. 1, 1987, and has been on the court's bench since, running unopposed each time.
Since he became a judge on the Court of Common Pleas, Goldsberry successfully petitioned for an increased number of judges on the court -from one to two -and assisted in efforts for increased security levels at the courthouse. He also promoted computerized records and helped design a new Athens County Law Library.
Goldsberry tried to run for Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals twice in the late 1990s. He lost the primary the first time and lost the general election the second time.
Goldsberry and his wife, Stephanie, have been together for more than 30 years and have three children and three grandchildren, including 1-year-old twins. Stephanie was a high school classmate of Judge Goldsberry and has served two terms on the Athens City Council.
We're a good family -I'm a Democrat
and she's a Republican
Goldsberry said.
Goldsberry is also president of the Athens County Historical Society and Museum, a board member on the Athens County chapter of the Red Cross and a member of a board that owns a housing complex for low-income senior citizens. Goldsberry enjoys bicycling and playing basketball, and owns a house in Hockingport where he likes to spend his free time.
Even though he ended up returning to Athens, Goldsberry said he is satisfied with his life here and is more worried about the current situation in Washington.
I would say I'm happy with my present circumstances
although I think many judges are especially concerned about the times
he said. When you start hearing Congressmen talking about courts should not have a right to judicial review
that makes you wonder what country you live in. I am uncertain about the future of the judicial branch of government.
-Eric Mungenast
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