There goes the judge

When asked what cases stand out most over his career, recently retired Judge Robert Macaulay doesn't have to think for long.

None of them, he says.

"No case was more important than the next to me," Macaulay said. "Each case was the most important to the people that were part of it. And it was so important to me to think about them that way."

Macaulay retired last week, taking one final bike ride from his home in Cloquet to the courthouse in Carlton with a police escort and numerous coworkers. Born in Indiana but raised in Moose Lake, Macaulay was a local boy made good when he was appointed by Gov. Arne Carlson. He served as Sixth District judge, based in Carlton County for a grand total of 26 years.

Murder, divorce, drunk driving, burglary, manslaughter, drugs, domestic violence and child abuse, Macaulay dealt with it all. In the courtroom he was soft-spoken, measured, thoughtful. When delivering a ruling, he would lean in, and quietly explain what was happening to the people directly involved with the case.

"I think a lot of reporters found me dull in the courtroom," Macaulay told the Pine Knot News last week in an interview three days into his retirement. "I never really prepared quotes I thought would be reported. The focus was always on the person and not the gallery."

Carlton County Attorney Lauri Ketola said almost the same thing, sharing a story of working with him years ago when both of them were reading "The Purpose Driven Life."

"The very first line of that book is, 'It's not about you,' she said. "And that's the mantra that he's lived by."

Kevin Hamre worked as court reporter for Macaulay from start to finish. The two men met when Macaulay was an assistant Carlton County attorney under Marv Ketola and Hamre worked for Judge Overlie. Macaulay called him up and asked him to come back and work with him after he was appointed in 1995.

"I have to say, Judge Macaulay is the most fair judge I have ever worked with, hands down," Hamre said, adding that he's worked for a total of 67 judges (many of them during his freelance career). "His favorite quote on the bench to the parties was always, 'Is there anything else you want to say,' and the parties would talk for another 15-45 minutes. I was a busy court reporter and he was a busy judge."

Growing up

Macaulay said he decided he wanted to be a lawyer when he was growing up in Moose Lake. As much as anything, it was the TV dramas," he said.

One of five kids, he said he "couldn't have asked for a better childhood."

"I was blessed with great parents, and we lived right on the lake, walking distance from everything, whether it was sports, plays, choir, Boy Scouts, church."

He developed a lot of skills from all those activities. "A lot of opportunity comes from living in a small town: small class sizes, we didn't have to choose between plays and sports," Macaulay said. "Back then everything was scheduled around everything else and there was nothing on the weekend, or on Wednesdays, because that was church night."

"It was a very inclusive town and I had wonderful support from teachers, coaches, pastors and businesspeople."

In fact, it was the Moose Lake mayor, Clayton Harman, who called his dad and told him about an opening in the county attorney's office when Macaulay was working as an attorney in Minneapolis.

"I didn't view that as being permanent," he said. "I really wanted to return to northeastern Minnesota and Carlton County."

He applied and got the job, working under Ketola from 1984 to 1995. He met his future wife, Karen, at the courthouse. She was a court reporter for Judge Dennis Seitz.

In 1995 there was an opening on the bench and Macaulay applied, after several people encouraged him. He got that job, too.

Behind the scenes

There was more to Macaulay than the serious, sincere man on the bench.

Hamre said Macaulay was funny, and liked to play tricks on the staff, Hamre in particular, it seems.

"I would often find my car keys missing. One time he forgot to give them back to me before he left work and I called him asking if he had seen them and he said, 'Oh, Kevin, they're in my pocket! I'm sorry, I forgot.' Shoes missing after walking at lunchtime; phone dial tone taped down; wall pictures hung crooked or put in a different location; office chair exchanged with another co-worker's chair. There were certain closets that I would only enter when he wasn't around, as I would get locked in multiple times by him and then I would hear, 'Kevin, I don't have a key to get you out.' Every day was an adventure."

Macaulay said it was hard to find the words to describe Hamre, calling him an outstanding court reporter and consummate professional.

"At the same time I marvel at his many avocations: he's so involved in theater, an accomplished pianist, great at fixing up houses. I'd see him six days before opening night when he was directing [the Cloquet High School plays], and it would be just chaos. He would get this big smile on his face, because he had a gift. He knew by opening night, as leader, he would pull everything together and the result would be those spectacular performances."

Macaulay had high praise for all the people he worked with.

"I can't tell you how good, how confident, how talented the Carlton County court staff is and has been throughout my time," he said. "They really are second to none. I'm not just saying that. They truly are that good.

"I really just want to affirm all of the people that work in the system, whether it's police officers, defense attorneys, prosecutors, probation agents, child support officers, social workers, guardians ad litem and, of course, all of the court staff."

Mutual respect

There is plenty of evidence that Macaulay was beloved by coworkers and even some of the defendants he worked with in court.

No. 1, none of them ever ran him off the road as he commuted by bike to work along Highway 45 between Scanlon and Carlton for the past 10 or 15 years, 1,600 to 1,800 miles a year. "I never worried about that, isn't that interesting," Macaulay said.

The crowd that greeted him outside the courthouse at the end of his last ride to full-time work proved it even more.

The affection goes both ways. Macaulay was moved to tears when he saw all the happy faces waiting there, signs in hand, cheering and waving. He started with Sheriff Kelly Lake and worked his way down the line, sharing hugs and handshakes with every person there.

One of those was his fellow judge and mentor, Judge Dale Wolf, who still works as a senior judge on a part-time basis when and where he's needed. Another Carlton County native, Wolf had been on the bench 17 years when Macaulay started. "For the next 20 years, he was very much a mentor to me," Macaulay said.

Wolf said Macaulay was the best partner on the bench, a man of integrity who always saw the big picture.

"He's one of a kind and he's the kind you want," Wolf said. "There's going to be a big gap. The first Moose Lake boy on the bench. His (grey) hair matches it now, but he's always had that wisdom in him. His decisions, indeed, were thoughtful and thorough."

Cloquet police chief Derek Randall has known Macaulay for the past 20 years.

"You can tell he definitely cares about the people of the county, and that came through in his work," Randall said. "He was someone I looked up to for many years when I was an investigator. I just hope the next person coming in has some similar characteristics and traits. And I look forward to still having him in the community."

What did Macaulay enjoy the most about being a judge?

"It was the continual contact with the people that appeared in court - all of them, from the staff and attorneys to the defendants," he said, stressing again how he deliberately focused on each case as it unfolded. "I think that process made each case, each day, unique throughout my entire career."

Still, it's a good time to retire, Macaulay said.

There are family weddings to attend to. He and Karen have four children: Maria, Rachel, Bob, and Olivia, who is the youngest and a senior this year at CHS.

Other than that he's looking forward to swimming more, biking, longer dog walks. And living his other mantra: Don't sweat the small stuff.