Kinder bids farewell after colorful time on bench

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- After 30 years of presiding over some of the most significant legal cases in Missouri, Cole County Circuit Judge Byron Kinder has no regrets. Asked to sum it up, the 69-year-old jurist doesn't miss a beat: "I did it my way."

Using country humor acquired during his early years in Cape Girardeau and an intellect honed at Georgetown University Law School, Kinder developed an outspoken style that at times was entertaining, abrasive and legally sound -- sometimes all at once.

"There's no personality test for becoming a judge," Kinder said with a grin. "I can't help it. I am what I am. What you see is what you get. I'm not a liar and I'm not a cheat. If I offend people, I'm sorry, that's just the way I am and that's the way it's got to be."

Kinder is retiring Jan. 1 from what is arguably the state's most high-profile circuit court. It's in Cole County Circuit Court where most cases involving state government first arrive.

Calls himself a free spirit

While it may not sound like a job for a free spirit, Kinder says that's exactly how he sees himself.

"But just because you're a free spirit doesn't mean you're a fool," Kinder said. "There are certain rules of behavior that people have to abide by, and I've always done that. I mean, I've skirted close to the line a time or two."

In what he considers one of his most significant cases, Kinder found that Missouri students suffered from dramatic and long-standing state school funding inequities. In essence, Kinder was telling lawmakers either to fix the system or he would.

"I gave them an opportunity to do what they should have done in the first instance," said Kinder, who now says he didn't have the expertise to fix Missouri's education funding problems at the time.

Still, a few months after the decision, the legislature in 1993 passed and Gov. Mel Carnahan signed the Outstanding Schools Act, which increased income taxes to pay for schools and continues to provide the framework for school funding.

Kinder also has faced his share of controversy.

His oversight of the Transit Casualty receivership has been described as a convenient way for the judge to direct work to close associates.

Originally headquartered in St. Louis and founded in 1945 as an insurer of bus companies, Transit was based in Los Angeles when it became insolvent in 1985. Although the company was technically bankrupt, it had millions of dollars in assets, mostly collections from other insurers that shared in Transit's risks.

"That's the greatest success in the history of this state as far as that business is concerned," Kinder said. "One of my greatest successes is the thing I've received the most criticism about."

By virtue of its location, Kinder's courtroom has seen a stream of cases involving state officials -- from lawmakers to agency directors to the governor. But Kinder says in a town filled with big issues and even bigger egos, he was never was one to be "star struck."

On the contrary.

In 1981, he defied then-attorney general John Ashcroft by ordering state agency attorneys to defend indigent clients. And recently, he successfully defended himself against Attorney General Jay Nixon and State Treasurer Nancy Farmer over control of interest from money left undistributed from four old court cases. Some of the money has been used to improve the Cole County courthouse.

"Why should I be impressed? Give me a break! I don't treat them any different than anybody else because that's what justice is all about," Kinder said.

Only the first stop

Ultimately, Kinder says his courtroom is often just the first stop along a lengthy legal route that ends with the Missouri Supreme Court.

"Being a circuit judge in Cole County is about like being a towel boy in a brothel: You're handy to have around, but you're not really essential to the operation," said Kinder, a Democrat who served as county prosecutor from 1962 to 1972.

Chip Robertson, a former Supreme Court judge now in private practice in Jefferson City, said he was often taken off guard by Kinder's approach but always saw the logic in the judge's reasoning.

"He's colorful and he doesn't suffer fools gladly," Robertson said. "He's either the best hip shooter in the world or works very hard and knows the law better than a lot of judges."

Nixon, who also has battled Kinder over budget language barring Planned Parenthood from receiving state money, called Kinder fair.

"He has a level of panache that is appreciated by some and noticed by all. I think Byron Kinder would be high profile if he was pumping gas in Mokane," Nixon said.