County mourns judge
By Steve Herring and John Joyce
Published in News on July 1, 2015 1:46 PM
The sudden death Tuesday morning of District Court Judge Tim Finan left the Wayne County Courthouse in shock and disbelief, but this morning the work goes on.
Finan, 62, died of a heart attack at his home at about 8:30 a.m. Those close to the judge said he had just finished his morning workout at the Family Y and he was preparing to head to court for the day.
Chief District Court Judge David Brantley was in the middle of hearing a domestic case when he received the call.
Brantley said he was so shocked that he couldn't go back into the courtroom, but did tell the attorneys and people involved what had happened and continued the case.
"It is a tremendous loss for the court system and this community," he said. "Tim was an inspiration, a mentor, a leader and a true friend to all he came into contact with. I know there are so many in his community who were touched by him and will miss him greatly.
"The other judges and the legal community will miss his wisdom, his dependability and certainly his humor. His death is a real shock to us all because of the healthy lifestyle he lived. We offer our prayers to his family during this difficult time."
Brantley said that officials with the state Administrative Office of the Courts have told him they will help in any way they can and will send emergency judges to the county to help keep cases from backing up.
There are several emergency judges, all of whom are retired, in the area, Brantley said.
There is enough staff to cover court for the remainder of the week, he said. The emergency judges will start next week and remain as long as needed.
Brantley said those judges will more than likely be assigned to cases that they do not need to have prior experience with, such as criminal or traffic cases.
Finan worked a lot with domestic cases that require more background knowledge, he said. Finan was also certified to hear juvenile cases.
Brantley said he would assume some of those cases and divide the others among sitting judges.
Finan was prompt and efficient in ruling on cases and signing court orders and does not have many cases outstanding, Brantley said.
There are "maybe two or three," outstanding, he said. "He was really up to date."
Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Arnold O. Jones suspended trial briefly to remark on the passing of his friend and mentor. Clerks in the Office of the Wayne County Clerk of Courts consoled one another, never straying too far from the tissue box.
Jones, addressing his own courtroom just minutes after receiving the news of his friend's passing, said he was devastated.
"This morning, when I got to the courthouse, I received some very bad news. One of my really good friends, who happens to be a District Court judge, Tim Finan, passed away this morning," Jones said.
He told the court to take a lesson from Finan's sudden passing, to love each other and their families, to have and apply patience wherever possible.
Finan, survived by a wife and two adult sons, was also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
After a few more comments about his friend, Jones asked for a moment of silence to be observed and invited those who wished to, to pray with him in silence -- then, as is his duty and was Finan's, Jones thanked the court for its patience and the trial continued.