Marvin Wooten Justice Fund Dedicated

Article Date: Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Written By: Russell Rawlings

Members of the Wooten family, front from left: wife,  Frances; granddaughter, Georgia Wood; back, son,  Rhem; and daughter, Robin Wood.

The Marvin R. Wooten Justice Fund was dedicated Thursday, May 20, at the N.C. Bar Center in Cary.

The newest named endowment fund of the North Carolina Bar Association Foundation was dedicated in memory of Judge Wooten, who served on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina. 

A Justice Fund is a named endowment that honors those North Carolina lawyers, past and present, whose careers have demonstrated dedication to the pursuit of justice and outstanding service to the profession and the public. One or more contributors may establish a Justice Fund to honor a colleague, family member or friend.

 

Lawyers designated and honored by the creators of a Justice Fund receive special recognition in the form of a permanent plaque and biographical sketch – see below – maintained at the N.C. Bar Center. One or more contributors may establish a Justice Fund to honor a colleague, family member or friend through a combined gift of $35,000.

 

NCBA President John R. Wester presided over the dedication ceremony. He was joined by President-Elect Gene Pridgen and Lee Hogewood who chairs the NCBA Bankruptcy Section.

 

NCBA Executive Director Allan Head directed the unveiling of the Justice Fund plaque.

 

The Wooten Justice Fund was introduced by a distinguished panel of speakers that included Judges George Hodges and Craig Whitley of the Western District Bankruptcy Court and Judge Graham Mullen of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of N.C.

Video coverage of this portion of the dedication ceremony is provided below. 

 

The jurists were joined on the program by Charlotte attorneys Richard Rayburn and Joseph Grier III.

 

Judge Marvin Wooten

Rhem Wooten responded on behalf of his father and the Wooten family, including his sister, Robin Wood, and mother, Frances. Marvin and Frances Wooten were married for almost 52 years, ultimately residing in Lincolnton, and also lived in Hickory, Cary and Raleigh.

 

The NCBA Foundation Endowment was established in 1987 to enable the foundation to fund programs and activities to better serve the public and the legal profession. As of January 2010, the endowment had awarded grants totaling $3,296,161 for 434 projects.

 

As the Bankruptcy Section chair reported in his remarks, the inspiration for this Justice Fund came from section members Max Gardner of Shelby and Martin Hunter of Charlotte.

 

“Our section council decided early on that we simply would not accept anything less than a fully funded Justice Fund,” Hogewood stated. “A committee comprised of Tom Anderson, Lang Cooper, Rob Cox, Jack Miller, Steve Tate and Joe Vonnegut took on the assignment with a can do, no fail attitude.”

 

Hogewood expressed a special debt of gratitude to section member Cotten Wright of Charlotte.

 

Lee Hogewood	Judge Mullen
Judge Hodges	Rick Rayburn
Joe Grier III	Judge Whitley

“If I used the words ‘unquenchable tenacity’ you would have some understanding of the level of effort and energy that resides in just the fingertips of our colleague and friend Cotten Wright. That unquenchable tenacity seems to pulse through her, from the fingertips with which she tirelessly made calls and sent e-mails seeking funds, out in her hands and arms which she can passionately move to inspire all of us, to every fiber of her being.”

 

Judge Wooten, who died early last year at the age of 80, was a native of Sampson County. He grew up in Clinton and attended Presbyterian Junior College – now St. Andrews College – and Wake Forest University, from which he earned his law degree in 1950.

 

After serving his country in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he returned to North Carolina and practiced law in Hickory from 1956-65 while also serving as a state recorders judge.

 

He was appointed to the State Parole Board by Gov. Dan K. Moore in 1965 and later to the N.C. Utilities Commission, also by Gov. Moore. He served on the Utilities Commission under Govs. Moore and Bob Scott, both of whom were Democrats, as well as Republican Gov. James Holshouser.

 

In 1976 he was appointed to the Bankruptcy Court by U.S. District Court Judge Woodrow Jones and served on the Western District bench a total of 33 years.

 

The complete biography for Judge Marvin R. Wooten, which will remain on permanent display at the Bar Center, follows. It was written by Judge Whitley.

 

Marvin R. Wooten (1928-2009)

Marvin R. Wooten was born May 5, 1928, in Sampson County. He attended Presbyterian Junior College and thereafter Wake Forest University, where he earned a law degree in 1950.

 

After serving in the Army during the Korean War, Wooten began a law practice in Hickory, North Carolina. He practiced there from 1956 to 1965, serving concurrently as a state recorders judge.

 

Wooten also served as chair for the Catawba County Democratic Party, and this position inspired him to enter public service. In 1965, Governor Dan Moore appointed Wooten as chair of the State Parole Board. Three years later, the governor asked Wooten to join the North Carolina Utilities Commission. Wooten continued in that position through the terms of three different governors: Democrats Moore and Bob Scott, and Republican James Holshouser.          

 

In 1976, Wooten was appointed to the Bankruptcy Court bench in the Western District of North Carolina by United States District Court Judge Woodrow Jones. He served that court, mostly alone, through its rapid expansion following enactment of the 1978 Bankruptcy Code; through it being declared unconstitutional in 1983; and after it was reconstituted as an arm of the United States District Court.

 

If one can be destined for a particular career, Wooten was born to be bankruptcy judge. He loved the job and he suited it. Attorneys who appeared before him found that he was plain spoken and practical; demanding, but fair. He also could be fiery, loud and entirely intolerant of those who sought to mislead the court. Still, Judge Wooten always had the time and the patience required to find the truth. Blessed with keen insight, he displayed an uncanny ability to pare down complicated matters to their essential issues.  

 

There was nothing contrived about Judge Wooten. He possessed as much self-confidence and strength of character as any man could, yet he had just as little ego. Among friends, he sometimes called himself a “low down judge” – not because he thought poorly of himself or his position, but because as a trial judge, he realized that he occupied the first step on a tall, federal court ladder.

 

A child of the Great Depression, Judge Wooten understood poverty. As one attorney has put it, Judge Wooten was “the poor man’s last friend.” He lived for equity. Once an attorney with a statutorily precise, but manifestly unjust, argument demanded a ruling from Judge Wooten, saying “I have searched the law and found absolutely no authority supporting my opponent!” Judge Wooten leaned forward and with a steely glare replied, “Well, Son, best get your pencil out, because I’m about to give you some.” He reminded us that, at its best, the law simply reflects good sense.

 

Judge Wooten enforced the law as Congress wrote it but never forgot that he was enforcing it upon human beings. Compassion was also required. Dealing with a debtor who had played “hide the car” once too often, Judge Wooten ordered the debtor to surrender the keys to the bank on the spot. This order left both the debtor and his counsel stranded many miles from home because they had traveled together to court in that same car. Judge Wooten gave them a ride home.

 

Judge Wooten felt honored to be a judge and gave it his all. While he qualified for retirement in 1993, he served as a recall judge until 2009. During that time, cancer stole his voice. No matter:  Judge Wooten held court using speakers that amplified his whisper. When a feeding tube became necessary, he sacrificed lunch, but not work. Judge Wooten held court until just two months before his death. Even then, he wasn’t ready to stop, and apologized to his fellow judges for “laying out.”

 

A Presbyterian elder, Judge Wooten was once called upon to give a sermon at his church. He chose as his topic: “My God is a Happy God.” He practiced what he preached, for Judge Wooten saw personal blessings in all that came his way. Even as his body failed him, that faith never wavered. In his last days, Judge Wooten’s pastor came to visit and offered to say a prayer on his behalf. The judge accepted, but with a restriction:  the prayer must be one of thanksgiving. “I’m done with begging prayers,” he explained. He died shortly thereafter, on Jan. 29, 2009, at age 80.

 

Married to his wife, Frances, for almost 52 years, Judge Wooten considered wooing her to be his finest accomplishment. They raised two fine children, Rhem and Robin. Judge Wooten also served as surrogate father to numerous law clerks, attorneys and court staff. Two of his former clerks went on to become bankruptcy judges themselves due to his inspiration.

 

In all, Judge Wooten served Western North Carolina for 33 years, using what he called “main strength and awkwardness,” but what his colleagues considered consummate skill and wisdom. He was one of the best loved judges in North Carolina, and he is sorely missed.