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INSIDE ARCHIVE


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E-mail: matzken@uwgb.edu

Rev. May 13, 2008

 

Sidebar: Guilty or not guilty,
they seek justic as result

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay grads sit on both sides of the aisle when it comes to criminal cases. Bob Holmes is the principal trial attorney for the Isabella County Prosecutor’s Office in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. John Zadrazil pits himself against prosecutors as an assistant public defender in Appleton. While their roles may seem like they’re polar opposites, both men seek out truth and justice.

Bob Holmes '87
Principal Trial Attorney, Isabella County (Mich.), Prosecutor’s Office
Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
UW-Green Bay Major: Political Science, minor in Business Administration
Law School: Thomas M. Cooley Law School

When Bob Holmes goes into court, he’s on the side of the law, protecting society, he says.
      “When you go into court it’s a good guys vs. bad guys kind of mentality,” he said. “I just see a lot of people who are hurt by crime and are unable to have any other recourse for justice other than to rely on the prosecutor’s office. Doing that it gives me a great deal of satisfaction to assist them. Despite modest pay, there’s good deal of satisfaction.”
      Unlike private attorneys, Holmes can’t turn down cases that warrant a chance before a judge and jury.
      “We run the gamut, from the simply silly, where people walk into the grocery store and pour themselves a free cup of coffee too many times, all the way up to the tragic, where you do child abuse cases where it just wrenches on you,” Holmes said.
Prosecutors often spend their day focusing on the worst of the worst in society.
      “We often remark to ourselves that there aren’t any good people left in the country,” he said. “But we have to remind ourselves that yes, there are. The vast majority of people never see the inside of a courtroom or deal with our office. We only see the baddest of the bad.”
      Knowing he helps keep those people off the street gives Holmes a sense of accomplishment.
      “I like to feel good about what I do at the end of the day,” he said. “Other than the occasional shaking of your head, you always go home feeling like you’ve done the right thing.”
      On being a lawyer: “My legal career has never been dull.  It is always intellectually stimulating and challenging. Just when you think you have seen it all, there is some person with a new wrinkle in the perpetration of a crime, or a defense attorney with a new and improved application of a law with regard to his client's criminal act.”
      Favorite lawyer joke: The jokes aren’t all deserved in the profession, but Holmes likes to laugh. Here’s his favorite:
      A lawyer and an engineer were fishing in the Caribbean. The lawyer said, "I am here because my house burned down and everything I owned was destroyed. The insurance company paid for everything."
      "That is quite a coincidence," said the engineer, "I'm here because my house and all my belongings were destroyed by a flood, and my insurance company also paid for everything."
      The lawyer looked somewhat confused and asked, "How do you start a flood?"
      Proudest moment as an attorney: Holmes got a jury to convict a mother who severely beat her 5-month-old son, leaving him deaf in one ear, blind in one eye and mentally retarded. The boy’s father took the side of the mother, leaving the boy parentless after the trial.
      “This innocent little child, who hadn't done anything to anyone, and who had been abandon by all those who were supposed to love and support him, was counting on me to see that justice was done on his behalf.  All the extra work, worry and heartache were well worth it.”
      Fun facts: The local defense bar nicknamed Holmes “The Tin Man” because they feel he doesn’t have a heart. Defense attorneys also believe Holmes would prosecute the Bible’s Three Wise Men for stalking. But those accusations are all unfounded, Holmes joked.

John Zadrazil


Click here to download a PDF file of the entire May 2008 issue of Inside magazine.