NEW CIRCUIT JUDGES.
Wallace Gets Criminal Division, With
Porterfield as a Relief -- Slover
Will Try Civil Cases
Exclusively
The appointments of W. H. Wallace as criminal judge, James H. Slover and E. E. Porterfield as circuit judges for Jackson county, were announced yesterday by Governor Folk. Judge Slover, who was named by the governor as criminal judge at the time of the death of Judge Wofford, tendered his resignation as such Saturday in order that the governor's new judgeship slate might be perfected immediately. The new judges will assume the duties of their positions without delay.
From the time the last legislature created the two new circuit judgeships in this county it has been generally understood that Judge Slover would surrender the criminal bench for one of the new circuit courts. There was no surprise occasioned by the appointment of the three above named judges, as it was understood several days ago that the governor had decided upon the man for the various places, and was holding the announcement back in order to give Judge Slover time in which to resign as criminal judge.
W. H. Wallace, who takes charge of the criminal bench, is a criminal lawyer of many years' experience. As prosecuting attorney for Jackson county, he conducted the prosecution of Frank James at Gallatin in 1882. This was his first celebrated case. His appointment to the criminal bench comes as a sort of balm to the disappointment occasioned by his defeat last fall as congressman from the Fifth district.
Judge Slover has served on the local circuit bench for twenty-two years, with two short interruptions. He was a candidate for the circuit bench last fall, but went down to defeat along with the rest of the Democratic ticket. His appointment as criminal judge followed the death of Judge Wofford. He preferred the civil branch of the work to the criminal, hence the transfer.
Attorney Porterfield becomes judge of the Seventh division of the circuit court, which is also division No. 2 of the criminal court. He will serve as a relief to the criminal court whenever its docket becomes too large for Judge Wallace to dispose of in proper time. It will be his first experience on the bench, although he has been a practicing attorney before the Jackson county bar for the past twenty years. He was recommended for Judge Wofford's place on the criminal bench at the time of the latter's death, but when he learned that two new circuit courts were to be created here by the legislature he dropped out of that race and set his sails for the circuit bench.
