James Henson wasn’t like many other judges.
Phil Naumoff, now a Richland County Common Pleas Judge, recalled practicing before Henson as a defense attorney.
“With Judge Henson, you’d sit there and if the judge was yelling at your client, they’d be scared to death,” Naumoff said.
Naumoff would reassure such clients.
“The more he yells at you, the more likely you weren’t going to prison,” he said. “When he started talking to you nicely, that’s when you were in trouble.”
Henson, known for his compassion, died Sunday at the age of 83.
Henson, who took the bench in common pleas court in 1981, was the longest-tenured judge in county history. When he was elected at age 38, he was the second-youngest person to take the common pleas bench in county history.
He retired on Feb. 9, 2014.
The son of sharecroppers, Henson was born outside of Crestline and graduated from Bucyrus High School in 1960. He served a three-year stint in the Army.
Henson worked for the FBI
Henson joined the FBI in 1970 and was stationed in New Jersey. His wife, Joni, did not care for the Garden State, so the couple relocated to Richland County in December 1973. Henson joined the staff of Prosecutor Bill McKee.
In 1978, Henson and four other attorneys from the prosecutor’s office opened their own practice.
“I never thought about being a judge until I got a call from my wife,” Henson told the News Journal in early 2014. Joni heard that incumbent Judge Rex Larson was not seeking another term.
Henson won a three-person Republican primary and defeated two other challengers in the general election.
“I never looked back,” he previously said.
Henson looked to fellow Common Pleas Judge Max Chilcote, who was his high school basketball coach, as a mentor.
The judge said he always saw himself as a public servant.
“You treat every person that comes before the court the way you want to be treated,” Henson said. “Even the worst criminal defendant is a human being.”
He added a judge needs to be even and consistent.
“I decided many, many years ago to do what I felt was the right thing to do, not what somebody else thinks is right,” Henson said.
Innovative judge among first in Ohio to implement drug court
In April 1997, Richland County started a drug court, one of the first five in the state. Under Henson’s direction, the local drug court was selected in 2000 as one of 23 national mentor court sites.
“He was an innovator,” said Common Pleas Judge Brent Robinson, who replaced Henson on the bench when he was appointed by then-Gov. John Kasich.
Robinson recalled that Henson received pushback on the drug court idea, which critics said would be going soft on crime.
“He (Henson) looked at it differently,” Robinson said. “He wanted to do something he thought would be life-changing in a positive way. His insight has proven correct.”
Robinson, who was first assistant prosecutor before taking over as judge, frequently practiced before Henson.
He said the judge often infused humor in tense moments.
Robinson also appreciated Henson’s open-door policy.
“He was very approachable. If you had an issue, you didn’t feel intimidated,” Robinson said. “You didn’t feel like you were going to get chastised.”
More: 10 people earn recognition for completing Richland County Drug Court
Both Robinson and Naumoff said that kindness extended to criminal defendants.
“He was very committed to trying to help people who were charged with crimes,” Robinson said. “He did not like sending people to prison.”
“I remember as a defense attorney, he was always giving people the opportunity to turn their lives around,” Naumoff said. “He wasn’t quick to send people to prison.”
In March 2013, Henson broke his neck after passing out on a Florida vacation. He suffered a crushed vertebra in the fall and underwent a lengthy surgery during which he had two rods and 16 screws inserted in his neck.
Soon after Henson returned to work, he went to lunch but then couldn’t walk back to the office. Doctors did a heart catheterization and inserted a pacemaker.
Henson had previously broken his neck as a teenager while working for Maytag. He was lifting a refrigerator over his head during a flood when the accident happened.
His health scares didn’t lead Henson to retire. He had planned to step down midway through his sixth and final term.
“I’ve been a public servant for 50 years,” Henson told the News Journal. “It’s time.”
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Longtime Richland County Common Cleas Court judge dies
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