Huitink not ready to hang up his robe yet

Friends, fellow judges, attorneys and others who have been impacted by Terry Huitink's service as a judge -- on the district level and for the Iowa Court of Appeals -- gathered Thursday in Orange City to mark Huitink's retirement. Huitink, of Ireton, will continue a legacy of justice as a senior member on the Iowa Court of Appeals. [Click to enlarge]

Huitink, of Ireton, retired from the Iowa Court of Appeals last month and was honored Thursday at a celebration in the Sioux County Courthouse.

He served as a judge for 20 years, with about 15 years of that on the Iowa Court of Appeals.

Huitink's legacy is not one of mighty battles, but of applying common sense and fairness to execute the law.

"He does it with excellence," said Dan Moore, president of the Iowa State Bar Association, in a phone interview. "He has a tremendous commitment to administering justice."

In his career with the Iowa Court of Appeals, Huitink had a hand in such cases as the Chicago police officer Mike Mett who punched a drunk man who was allegedly attacking him in Dubuque. Mett was sentenced to prison time because he didn't run away from the man. Huitink and the Iowa Appeals Court gained fame in Chicago, at least, for strongly overturning that sentence.

Huitink was also part of the decision that softball is a "contact sport" in Iowa. That decision came up after a softball first baseman sued a batter for negligence when the bat slipped from the batters hands and struck the baseman, leaving him blind in one eye. Being a "contact sport" limits lawsuits from sports injuries to only those caused intentionally.

"He was consistent," Moore said. "He had a fair and impartial demeanor as a judge. And a wonderful sense of humor."

But Huitink isn't finished yet. He will continue as a senior judge with the Iowa Court of Appeals. He will work about 13 weeks a year, assisting with case overload and helping out when other judges are absent.

Moore, an attorney practicing in Sioux City, was a classmate of Huitink's at Drake University Law School.

"He treated his fellow students with concern for their well-being," Moore said.

Judge James Scott, who went to high school with Huitink in West Sioux Community Schools in Hawarden, told the crowd gathered at Thursday's reception that he saw the same thing from Huitink even when he was a teenager.

"Terry never got a big head out of all his successes," Scott said, remembering Huitink's rise to be class president and the fact that he dated and married the homecoming queen, Kathy Gaul. "He reached out to us as classmates and has continued to do that in the legal profession."

After graduating with his law degree, Huitink began practicing law in Ireton and Sioux Center.

He first took the bench in the Sioux County Courthouse, serving part time as a juvenile court referee for seven years until he was appointed a district court judge in 1988.

In 1994, he was chosen to be a judge on the court of appeals. To be chosen, a judge must be nominated, then appointed by the governor.

The Iowa Court of Appeals decides most appeals filed from trial decisions throughout the state.

"Very few members of the bar ever achieve that honor (of serving on the court of appeals)," said Sioux County Attorney Coleman McAllister.

Judge Scott's remarks echoed that sentiment.

"Terry," Scott said, "you've brought honor and distinction to yourself, to your family and to all of us in northwest Iowa."

Huitink lives in Ireton with his wife Kathy.

When Huitink made a few remarks during the Thursday reception, he immediately shifted the focus off himself and began thanking others.

He pointed to his father as the one who instilled him with two "sustaining virtues" that he's carried with him through his time on the bench: the difference between right and wrong and an appreciation for fairness.

"It is still those two things that sustain most judges when they have hard decisions to make," Huitink said.

He also thanked the legislators for supporting justice in Iowa.

"Terry was always the kind of guy who left his ego at the door," said Orange City attorney Brad De Jong worked with Huitink both when Huitink was attorney and judge. "For Terry, it was all about doing justice."