Honoring John Atwood, with humor and Speedos

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They came, grudgingly, to praise John “Double Barrel” Atwood on Saturday night at the Samoset Resort in Rockport. The veteran assistant attorney general, district attorney and Superior Court justice announced his retirement last month.

Many, including master of ceremonies Paul Gibbons, wanted to tell the real “war stories” of Atwood’s storied career, but feared that he might return as an active retired judge and exact his revenge.

Gibbons traced Atwood’s career path from Choate to Penn to Cornell law school, where he graduated in 1971. It was then that Atwood “made the best decision of his life, to come to Maine,” Gibbons said.

Atwood was hired to work in the Attorney General’s Office. By 1973, Atwood was chief of the criminal division, where he prosecuted the most difficult criminal cases across the state and developed a fearsome reputation as an emotional, aggressive advocate for the people.

He grew tired of the constant travel and ran for district attorney for Knox, Waldo, Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties, where he served from 1979 to 1989, when Gov. John McKernan tapped him to run the Department of Public Safety. In 1994, Atwood returned to his first love, the law, and was appointed to the Superior Court bench.

Atwood always had it easy, Gibbons complained.

“He never had to accept a criminal appointment. He always had the evidence on his side. And he never had to face John Atwood,” Gibbons said.

Gibbons presented the dignified, highly reserved judge with a Speedo bathing suit and a T-shirt from the 1986 spring break with the legend, “Party til you puke!”

Former Chief Justice Daniel Wathen apologized for being late and not wearing a tie. He told the 100 diners that he was accidentally locked in a bathroom on Route 17 in Washington and had to write “help!” on his tie, then slide the tie under the door, to get released. The Rockland-Rockport room laughed, knowing it was a well-meant slam against retired Justice Francis Marsano, who once was locked overnight in a Machias courthouse bathroom – on his birthday.

Wathen told a story of Jimmy, a Washington gas jockey. When Wathen pulled in for gas one day, Jimmy wasn’t there. The owner said Jimmy had retired and Wathen asked who filled the vacancy.

“Jimmy didn’t leave no vacancy,” the owner said.

“John Atwood did,” Wathen said.

In letters read at the gathering, McKernan praised Atwood’s “intellect and common sense.” The former governor said Atwood declined a posting to the bench until the second McKernan administration. “He was one of a handful of people who thought there would be a second McKernan administration,” McKernan wrote.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, a close associate of McKernan’s, expressed gratitude for Atwood’s public service.

Current District Attorney Geoff Rushleau had both the pleasure and pain of working under Atwood, then facing him on the bench. As a D.A., Atwood was so prepared that “he had his closing argument completed before the jury was picked. He wanted us to represent the people fairly and he was disappointed if we came up short,” Rushleau said.

When facing Atwood on the bench, “you had better be prepared for your day in court because he was.” Five of Atwood’s former assistants have been appointed to the bench, an indication of Atwood’s teaching abilities, he said.

Rushleau admitted that this “proof beyond a reasonable doubt thing is a real pain.”

One of the first victim-witness advocates in the state, Pat Walsh, said it was a sea change, coming from the “stevedore” language of Belfast’s Winnie Black, who ran Waldo County’s anti-poverty agency, to the “genteel and cultured” District Attorney’s Office operated by Atwood.

Atwood “was on the front lines fighting child abuse” but a total failure on the softball field, Walsh said.

When he got his turn at the Samoset microphone, Atwood reminded Gibbons about their historic battle on a case involving a torched Mercedes Benz. Atwood won the case for the car owner, a good Republican.

“If he had been a Democrat, it would never have been an issue,” Atwood said.

He admitted that he thought he was pretty funny, because people laughed uproariously in chambers at his jokes. But when he told the same tales at home, the family would just groan.

He noted that Justice Nancy Mills had attended three different Atwood parties. “She must have no social life,” he said.

He praised a number of friends for assistance, including McKernan. “Without him, I would have been unemployed for the past 18 years.”

He praised former Attorney General Jim Erwin and former U.S. Attorney Dick Cohen and his “role models” on the bench including Bruce Chandler, Robert Clifford, William McCarthy, Vincent McKusick, Daniel Wathen and Alan Pease. He thanked Sam Collins for teaching him how to run for office, then for his “encouragement, guidance and support” when he got to the bench.

He praised the local bar for their hard work and good company. “The judge may make the call at home plate but the attorneys make the case,” he said.

Atwood praised state workers and singled out Knox County Superior Court Clerk Susan Guillette. “When we showed up in Rockland, everything was always ready to go. She is organized and extremely conscientious and I count her as a friend. When I was D.A. if I got to the courthouse five minutes late, she would call to see where I was. I tried to beat her to work, but she always got there first. In 11 years at that courthouse, I think I beat her twice.”

Atwood apologized for his occasional “overbearing” actions and mistakes made on the bench. “Judges don’t have the benefit of instant replay,” he said.

Atwood made no promises about wearing the Speedo or the “Party til you puke” T-shirt in his retirement.