by David Ball
Staff Writer
Jim Klindt had all the talent and skills to become a Major League Baseball manager, according to many who knew him and saw him play and coach in Jacksonville.
But baseball’s loss was the federal court’s gain, as those same people said the values Klindt demonstrated on the ball field served him well as an 18-year federal prosecutor, and they will continue to serve him as the Middle District of Florida’s newest magistrate judge.
“As a pitcher, he was a fierce competitor, but one who played within the rules,” said former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Paul Perez. “And he had a reputation as a tough-nosed but fair-minded prosecutor.”
Perez and others from the District Court and local Bar associations welcomed Klindt to the bench during an investiture ceremony Friday at the U.S. Courthouse, and hundreds gathered to watch Klindt don his robe and take his seat with the other local district, magistrate and bankruptcy judges.
Klindt officially began his eight-year term last October, replacing former Magistrate Judge Marcia Morales Howard, who was appointed to a district judgeship.
The magistrate judge position was created by Congress in 1968 (replacing federal commissioners) to conduct a wide range of judicial proceedings to expedite the disposition of the civil, criminal and social security caseloads of the U.S. district courts.
In the federal courthouse in Jacksonville, four magistrate judges handle most preliminary aspects of cases, including arraignment, determining release on bond, overseeing the discovery phase and pleas. Upon agreement from the parties, magistrates can also preside over an entire jury trial from arraignment to sentencing.
An Orlando native who previously worked as an elementary teacher, Klindt got his first judicial experience right after graduation from Florida State University College of Law in 1986, when he served as a law clerk for Senior District Court Judge Howell Melton. The experience convinced Klindt to pursue a career in the federal courts, and he began as a line assistant U.S. attorney in 1988. In 1999, he was chosen as the deputy managing assistant attorney in the Jacksonville office. He then rose to the first assistant for the entire Middle District and was later named acting U.S. Attorney when Perez left that post in 2002.
Klindt repeatedly mentioned the impact Melton, Perez and an entire list of others have had on his career and his life, and he talked more baseball by quoting from the book, “How Life imitates the World Series.” Then, he ended the ceremony with a pledge.
“The Middle District bench is held in the highest regard,” said Klindt. “As long as I’m in this courthouse, I will do my best to uphold the tradition and high honor of this court.”