in as Fourth Judicial District associate judge

Glenwood attorney Justin Wyatt was administered his oath of office earlire this month to become the newest associate judge for the State of Iowa’s Fourth Judicial District.
Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen administered the oath in the courtroom at the Mills County Courthouse before fellow judges and several of Wyatt’s relatives, friends and legal colleagues.
Wyatt, a Villisca native, began practicing law in Glenwood in 2003, the same year he graduated from law school at Creighton University. He was an attorney for Peters Law Firm until 2011 when he and Matt Woods started their own practice in Glenwood.
Becoming a judge has been an aspiration for several years, Wyatt said after Friday’s ceremony.
“Every time it comes up, it’s something I’ve thought through,” he said. “The timing was right this time and everything was aligned, so I went for it.”
The Fourth Judicial District consists of nine southwest Iowa counties – Audubon, Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery,  Page, Pottawattamie and Shelby.
Most of Wyatt’s work as an associate judge will be cases in juvenile court.
“I’m assigned to go ahead and work in all nine counties but specifically, I’ve got juvenile court in Montgomery County, Cass, Audubon and Harrison counties,” he said. “I’ll be handling all the cases there.”
Chief Justice Christensen told those in attendance at the ceremony she’s been involved in many cases with Wyatt over the years and believes he’s a good fit for his new position. She’s been particularly impressed by the way he interacts with both parents and children in juvenile-related cases.
“He was always attentive to his client,” she said. “You could tell that because they were prepared. I appreciated that. I knew if he was assigned a case, his clients would have somebody to talk to and receive advice from.
“He had an acute ability to make a connection with a child in a way that was different than everybody else. We have other people there that are touchy feely. That’s not Justin Wyatt, but he was very effective.”
Wyatt officially began his duties as an associate judge  April 18.

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