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RATING THE DIVORCE JUDGES:

A who’s who in the ’soap opera’ court circuit
By G.R. |

ALL MEN AND WOMEN may be equal in the eyes of the law, but not in the eyes of Dallas’ seven family court (divorce)
judges. And not all judges are equal in the eyes of the city’s leading divorce and domestic relations lawyers,
either.

“If all judges were light bulbs, Judge Annette Stewart would be a floodlight – 200 watts, and Judge John Whittington
would be a night light – maybe one watt,” one attorney in the 150-watt range says.

Some judges are ideal for the man who breaks up his marriage; others would be better for a wife who misbehaves. You
can’t pick your judge -they are assigned cases through a lottery -but by knowing the judge you can get a better idea
of how far you can go in negotiating with your wife or husband before turning the case over to the court.

Here is what a group of divorce lawyers had to say about the men and women who might decide who gets your kids, your
house, and your money:

Theo Bedard: Like many women judges, she may be harder on wives than on husbands. “It’s very bad to get her
if your client is a wife who’s been screwing around,” says one experienced attorney. She isn’t the brightest judge
in Dallas, but she tries hard to be fair. “She tries so hard to be nice to everyone that she pretty much offends
everyone,” says another lawyer.

Dan Gibbs: An ideal judge if you’re a mother with a bad husband. “He really cares about the kids,” the
lawyers say, which translates into reasonably hefty support payments and jail terms for daddies who balk at signing
the checks. He believes in holding cruelty, adultery, or neglect against folks when he divides their family
property. He’s been a family court judge for 14 years -longer than any of his colleagues – and has a sharp memory
and “the best sense of what’s right and what’s wrong,” one admirer says. In short, a gentleman from the old
school.

Patrick Guillot: Mixed reviews. He’s been on the bench since January 1979, and managed to stir up some
controversy before his recent promotion to the court of appeals. “He’s young (36), honest, and probably the most
puritanical and emotional of the judges,” one lawyer says. “He will punish people for bad behavior if you can get
him to react emotionally to it, and he gives the most disproportionate shares of property to the wronged spouse,”
another lawyer says. “He’s one of the best judges in family court,” says yet another. “He rules firmly and quickly,
and he doesn’t mind making you unhappy.” Several attorneys, however, say Guillot has a weakness for signing orders
sought by one lawyer, without consulting the opposing side. He once allowed a lawyer to amend a divorce decree after
the lawyer told Guillot the other side failed to attend a 9:30 a.m. hearing. Problem was, the hearing was scheduled
for 1:30 p.m.

Don Koons: If you were the liar, cheater, and beater in your marriage, pray that you get Don Koons as your
judge. “He always takes the path of least resistance,” an experienced lawyer says. “It’s real hard to get him to
divide the property up any way except 50-50. How can you say anything bad about him?”

Annette Stewart: You could get diabetes just listening to the sweet things lawyers say about her. “She’s
probably 20 IQ points above the other judges,” one says. “She runs a tight court, and she’s very fair.” She
graduated from SMU law school in 1966 with the highest grade-point average of any student at the time. Like Gibbs,
she is a children’s judge. But she wouldn’t hold adultery against a husband, for instance, if his indiscretions did
not harm anyone. She’s been on the bench for seven years, but spent 16 years as a court reporter. Maybe having seen
the other judges’ mistakes helps her avoid some of her own.

Linda Thomas: For some reason, lawyers think she sympathizes with wives, but tries so hard to be fair that
she winds up ruling in favor of the husbands. A hard worker with a good sense of humor and a thorough knowledge of
the law, she took the gavel in January 1979 and still needs experience. “She’s fairly easy to intimidate,” one of
Dallas’ most imposing lawyers says. “Sometimes I want to tell her, ’You don’t have to take that from me.’ ” Judge
Thomas has something in common with the people who come before her: She is divorced herself.

John Whittington: If this were Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, he’d be Dopey. He’s an awfully nice
man who, lacking much else, judges by the seat of his pants. He believes in punishing folks who mess up their
marriages, and he works hard. But he got his black robe because of politics – he was appointed by Bill Clements
after he lost a re-election race for county judge -and it shows. “He’s been away from trial practice too long,” one
of his milder critics says. “He tries to make everyone happy, and you just can’t do that in a divorce suit.” The
last thing he said when he was interviewed for this article was, “Be sure you say I’m a Republican.”

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