Bill Askey, to Retire as Federal Magistrate
From the December 8, 2007 Williamsport Sun-Gazette:
For decades, William H. Askey has been defying the myth that aging means slowing down.
At 88, he still serves as the part-time U.S. magistrate judge for the U.S. Middle District Courthouse on West Third Street.
Now, after 43 years of wearing a judicial robe, time has caught up with him.
In an interview this past week, the man who signed the order to gave freedom back to Watergate figure G. Gordon Liddy said he will retire at the end of the month for health reasons.
Like 93-year-old U.S. District Senior Judge Malcolm Muir, Askey kept on working over the past few decades because he loves his work.
The two men have a long-time friendship and over the last 40 years or so have had lunch together sometimes four times a week at the Ross Club.
As time passed, Muir said, they lost many of the others who usually sat with them, but the two men had in common more than longevity.
“In our friendship, he and I have never had a disagreement that I am aware of,” Muir observed.
“I love the work,” Askey said when asked to explain his staying power.
He admitted being amazed sometimes by the trouble people can get themselves into and the things they are capable of doing to harm themselves and others, but his approach in all proceedings is similar.
“I’ve always known and operated knowing that a person is innocent until proven guilty,” he said. “I’ve always tried to treat each person with respect.”
Askey has been a practicing attorney here since 1951 but closed his private practice four years ago, moving into an office on the second floor of the courthouse and holding hearings in available courtrooms. Prior to that, Askey conducted most court proceedings at his law office, with the exception of high-profile cases such as Liddy’s.
Liddy, a White House aide and former FBI agent linked to the Watergate burglary that brought down the presidency of Richard M. Nixon, had served four years in prison when he appeared before Askey in 1977 to arrange payment of his federal fines so he could be released.
At the time, federal prisoners still owing fines could be held until they were paid. Liddy owed about $40,000.
The hearing grew national attention and was moved to Muir’s federal courtroom to accommodate the crowd.
Askey signed an order allowing Liddy’s release, but remembers Liddy basically as just another prisoner, not the celebrity who later debated LSD guru Timothy Leary, turned in occasional acting roles on “Miami Vice” and became a popular talk radio host.
“He didn’t have anything to say,” Askey recalled of Liddy. “He just was a person like any other person.”
Askey easily handled more than 100 criminal cases a year. A lot of faces appeared before him, most of them for their initial federal court appearance — a proceeding during which the charges are explained and bail set if appropriate.
A magistrate judge is the first court official the accused encounters in the federal court system, and the significance of that was always in Askey’s mind.
“I thought I was accomplishing something important every time a case came to me,” he said.
Like Muir, Askey is one of the oldest active judges in the country. Asked if he was the oldest magistrate judge, he replied, “I don’t think so, but I’m not sure.”
When appointed in 1964, the position was known as “U.S. commissioner” but had the same duties as today.
Askey has been re-apportioned every four years for four decades, and his memories of those four decades involve thousands of defendants, all of whom he treated as equal under the law.
As he reflected back, Askey gave not one of them more importance over the others, and as he recalled the highlights of his career, a long night at the office many years ago was what he mentioned.
He said the FBI needed him to sign papers for a big case that was about to break.
I was in the office until daylight,” he said, recalling how the birds were chirping when he left work that morning knowing he had been doing something important.
He doesn’t know how long it will take for a new magistrate to be appointed and said that may depend on whether the position here remains part-time or becomes full-time.
Until a new magistrate is appointed by the Third Circuit Judicial Council, one of the other three magistrates from the Harrisburg or Scranton-Wilkes Barre areas will cover cases from this area.
Askey leaves with reluctance. He would have stayed if his health were better, he said, but he leaves with no regrets and with pride for having had the experience.
“It’s been a real privilege and an honor to serve,” he added.
“I think he’s rendered excellent service,” summed up Muir.
From the December 14, 2007 Williamsport Sun-Gazette Editorial Page:
Magistrate Askey leaves a legacy of fairness
U.S. Magistrate William H. Askey has donned a federal judicial robe for 43 years and handled more than 100 criminal cases a year out of his Williamsport office.
The phrase "he's seen it all" is often misuses, but not in this case.
At the end of the year, the 88-year-old Askey will hang up his robe.
It will end a career that, by its very nature, has been understated for the most part. The federal magistrate is the first level of processing at the federal court level. So very much of what he does is the court equivalent of an office visit.
At the other end of the spectrum, Askey was in the national spotlight in 1977 when he signed the order giving Watergate figure G. Gordon Liddy.
That hearing had to be moved to the federal district courtroom to accommodate a national crowd and the hearing led the national nighttime news. Be it Liddy or a no-name defendant, Askey said in an exit interview with the Sun-Gazette that he has treated all defendants alike.
Beyond his humility and his keen understanding of the awesome responsibilities of his job and office, we were struck by an observation that Askey couched as the common thread of all his professional years.
He said he is amazed at the trouble people can get themselves into and the things they are capable of doing to harm themselves and others.
That sums up, as well as anything could, why our court system is overloaded with cases and our prison system is overcrowded.
People are willing to do amazing things when they suspend reality in favor of rationalized, criminal behavior.
Magistrate Askey has represented not just the court system, but our region, with distinction for more than four decades.
That's quite a robe he is leaving behind for someone to fill.
