SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - Longtime Northern District Clerk of Court Richard Wieking's announcement that he will retire on September 1 has brought a strong reaction from judges and colleagues throughout the Northern District.
They praised his 26 years of inventiveness and effective leadership in the post, and said above all they will miss his kindness.
"He is not only innovative, he is thoughtful, he is dedicated to improving the operation of the judiciary. I think though, that one of his unique attributes is that he is extraordinarily humane," U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said.
"He always takes into account the human cost of any particular decision, which isn't always true in the operation of the government, and that puts him in a very special category."
Wieking said in an interview that the daily interactions with his staff and the public are what he will miss most.
"I feel my strengths are really in working effectively with people and I'm very energized by those interactions. I really love it. I'm going to miss that terribly," he said.
Chief Judge Phyllis Hamilton wrote in an email: "He is a truly outstanding public servant with a rich and accomplished record of dedication to federal court administration. Our court has benefited greatly from his adroit counsel and steady watch over the daunting array of administrative and managerial issues involved in the operation of a large, metropolitan federal trial court like ours. We will miss him."
Wieking began his 42-year career in federal government as an administrative law clerk under Judge Robert F. Peckham. But it was at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that Wieking got his start in administration, under the guidance of Chief Judge James R. Browning, a former U.S. Supreme Court clerk.
"He was a huge influence in my life," Wieking said. "He was acknowledged as a pioneer of modern court administration in the Ninth Circuit. I was with him very early in his career. He really inspired me to think carefully about management issues. Not just being an implementer off static implementer of policy that comes from Washington, but to really proactively manage our affairs through our own efforts and creativity."
Wieking also looked up to Ninth Circuit Judge Dorothy Nelson, who was a dean at the University of Southern California, where Wieking got his graduate degrees in public administration and law.
"She was a very big advocate of court administration. And that's how I got into the area after deciding I didn't want to practice. She was a big mentor of mine."
Wieking started his 26-year tenure in the Northern District as head clerk in 1989, when the court was still hammering out paper dockets on typewriters. By 2001, the court had moved to electronic case filing, and last year implemented mandatory electronic filing for civil cases.
"We implemented it very quickly and got many, many cases up on it very quickly. I'm sure we were among the fastest courts in the nation," Wieking said.
"We decided to be on the forefront of implementation and bloody ourselves a bit for the benefits we thought we would obtain, and we did. Our system has been in place from the earliest possible time."
Wieking praised the attorneys in the Northern District for embracing the move.