By BETH CHAPMAN / Community Columnist

Judge Bill Bostick has been Shelby County’s 18th Judicial Circuit Judge since he was appointed by Governor Robert Bentley in 2011.

While in elementary school, a young man in Bostick’s church was murdered. Bostick was struck by the suffering it caused an entire community. Since then he has had a desire to see justice served.

“I not only wanted to do something about it; I wanted to make sure something like that would never happen again. Becoming a prosecutor seemed liked the best way to go about it, and for the first 18 years of my career I was well satisfied that I was doing what I was meant to do,” Bostick said.

“When I was appointed to the bench, I realized I would no longer be pursuing justice for the community, I would be responsible for facilitating it,” said Bostick. “People who come to the courthouse deserve to be treated fairly, whether they are suing someone or being sued, whether they have been accused of a crime or have been the victim of one. My job is to ensure their fair treatment and make sure that their case is decided pursuant to the law.”

In addition to hearing civil, criminal and domestic relations cases, Bostick presides over Veterans Treatment Court, a pilot program established last year at the request of then-Chief Justice Chuck Malone. This court provides judicial supervision of military veterans facing criminal charges, with assistance from the Veterans Administration and volunteers from our local veteran community who serve as mentors to the participants.

“Our criminal justice system continues to struggle with resources devoted to addressing crime; having this special court gives our county a unique opportunity to draw upon federal resources,” he said. “Many veterans are eligible for drug and mental health treatment, counseling and even housing. Those happen to be three key components of any successful specialty court, so by employing these existing, federally funded services in tandem with our traditional Drug Court methodology, it reduces recidivism which translates into a safer community,” Bostick said.

 

Beth Chapman, Alabama’s secretary of state, is a community columnist for Shelby County. She can be reached at bethchapman@bellsouth.net.