Judge remembered for his love of life, sense of humor

<p>Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes took the law seriously, but not himself.</p><p>Regularly gossiping with attorneys at breakfast in the Fulton County Courthouse cafeteria and inviting lawyers into his chambers, Barnes was known for his personable approach to justice and his sense of humor.</p><p>The judge would often indulge lawyers at the Atlanta Bar Association's annual charity fundraiser _ where he appeared in skits wearing his underwear.</p><p>"How many judges would do that? He could laugh at himself better than anybody," defense attorney Don Samuel said.</p><p>Members of Georgia's legal community were shocked and saddened by the news that Barnes had been killed Friday, gunned down in his downtown Atlanta courtroom. Barnes' court reporter and a deputy were also killed and another deputy was wounded during the shootings.</p><p>Atlanta Bar Association President William M. Ragland, Jr., called Barnes "a giant in the legal community."</p><p>Along the quiet street where Barnes lived in a historic neighborhood in College Park, neighbors hugged and comforted each other late Friday afternoon, still shocked by the news that the likeable judge was dead.</p><p>"He was like a family man to the whole community," said Shirley Howard, who has lived across the street from Barnes for 18 years. "He was accessible to one and all, young and old, and had a great sense of community pride. He was everybody's judge, everybody's neighbor."</p><p>Barnes and his wife, Claudia, lived in a modest brick home in the southwest Atlanta suburb. Neighbors said he was passionate about preserving the established, wooded neighborhood, where the College Park mayor also lives.</p><p>A patrol car blocked the home's driveway. Fulton County Juvenile Court Chief Judge Sanford Jones emerged from the house and asked for privacy for the family.</p><p>"They're all very upset. This is a tragic, sudden, unexpected moment," Jones said.</p><p>Jones and Barnes had been friends for 25 years, and Jones performed the marriage ceremony for Barnes and his wife.</p><p>He said Barnes' wife works as a judicial assistant for another judge and was in the courthouse when her husband was killed.</p><p>In an emotional scene outside the courthouse, some witnesses and courthouse employees wept as they were gathered in the street.</p><p>Court Administrator Judith Cramer worked with Barnes for nearly a decade and said he was caring, patriotic and dedicated to his job. "He loved to give speeches about how lucky we were to be in America," Cramer recalled in a telephone interview.</p><p>"He cared about people and protecting the community. He cared about every individual and he was very balanced," she said.</p><p>Barnes, 64, was named to the Fulton County Superior Court bench on July 10, 1998. He also worked as a part-time Fulton County Magistrate and City Court Judge in Hapeville and Fairburn. Barnes was a 1972 graduate of Emory Law School in Atlanta and a graduate of Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa.</p><p>He drew national attention last month when he approved a plea deal that required a mother of seven who pleaded guilty to killing her 5-week-old daughter to have a medical procedure that would prevent her from having more children.</p><p>He also handled the January sentencing of Atlanta Thrashers player Dany Heatley, who pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in the death of a teammate.</p><p>In 2003, Barnes dismissed murder charges against prominent Atlanta nursery owner Wayne Carr who served three years of a life sentence for allegedly setting fire to his home 10 years earlier, in which his wife, Patricia, died of smoke inhalation days after the blaze.</p><p>Barnes ruled that Wayne Carr's right to a speedy trial was violated because the case languished for several years after the Georgia Supreme Court overturned his 1994 conviction on arson and murder charges, citing trial errors and prosecutorial misconduct.</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2005/3/149942