Wheeling Rotary Club Gets Insight Into Life of An Ohio County Magistrate
Lemon Discusses First Six Months on Bench
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WHEELING -- Wheeling resident William "Mike" Lemon's lifetime of service to his community and country helped him prepare for his newest role as an Ohio County magistrate.
He shared the challenges of the job as the featured speaker during Tuesday's Wheeling Rotary Club meeting at WesBanco Arena.
Lemon is a retired West Virginia State Police sergeant and veteran of the Air Force and Air National Guard. He was appointed as magistrate after longtime magistrate Patricia Murphy retired during her term. Lemon said he considers the appointment a privilege.
After serving in law enforcement for 27 years, Lemon believed he had a good grasp of what it would be like to work as a magistrate. But after taking on the position, he learned there was so much more to it.
"I really had no idea the full scope and sphere of influence a magistrate has in the community," he said. "West Virginia magistrates; it's a 24/7 emergency room of the judicial branch."
For example, since starting on March 7, he has overseen 453 cases. That equates to 75 cases per month or 19 cases per day. Some of the hearings only take 10 minutes, while others last for hours. But during each one, Lemon always aims to be respectful and treat people with dignity, he said.
"It's a constant stream. ... I strive to do a good job for the citizens of the county and the people who appear before me," he said.
Since there is a high volume of work, Lemon said he must often make life-altering decisions at a moment's notice. Some decisions must be made in the middle of the night when he is the on-call magistrate. Sometimes he must decide whether there is enough evidence to separate a child from their parents. Sometimes he must decide whether a person's personal safety order request meets certain legal criteria. He also has to make decisions on whether to evict people from their homes for not paying rent. And sometimes an officer needs a late-night warrant approved.
"It's often emotional, but you try to make the best decisions that you can," he said.
During his six months on the bench, Lemon has learned while overseeing civil cases that the people involved often just need to "talk it out."
"I do this before every civil hearing: I explain to the litigants that it's my job to be respectful, neutral, easy to understand and to give people involved in the case a voice," Lemon said.
He said giving this speech usually relaxes the people involved.
"Then I'll say, 'have you guys had an opportunity to talk this out?' ... I'll give them 20 minutes ... and oftentimes they will work it out before I can do anything. ... Just giving people dignity and respect solves the problem at hand," he said.
Lemon said additional examples of magistrate cases include criminal misdemeanor cases, felony preliminary hearings, bench trials, jury trials, civil lawsuits up to $20,000, wrongful occupation (eviction), personal safety orders, domestic violence protection orders, juvenile petitions, juvenile commitments and eradication of parental rights.
"Being a magistrate in Ohio County allows you to see firsthand the real-world impact of addiction, poverty, violence, child abuse, definitely mental health issues ... But it gives me an opportunity to address all those things with compassion and to try to really affect the people I come in contact with," Lemon said. "In the short time I've been a magistrate, I've found that striving to be a good person goes a long way to solving whatever has been put in front of me."
Lemon concluded by thanking the club members for their service to the community.
The Wheeling Rotary Club is always looking for new members. The club typically meets at noon Tuesdays at WesBanco Arena in the lower-level club room. Mary Hess, executive director of the Unity Center, is the scheduled speaker for the Sept. 1 meeting.
For more information, one can attend a meeting, visit rotarywheeling.org, visit the "Rotary Club of Wheeling, West Virginia" Facebook page or call 304-280-6212.