Bressler reflects on career as attorney, judge

After more the 40 years in a courtroom, 29 of those as a judge, Bressler is retiring from the 12th District Court of Appeals.

“You know people say congratulations on your retirement. I appreciate their sentiment, but I don’t want to leave,” Bressler said last week sitting in his chambers in Middletown.

By law, Bressler, 71, cannot run for re-election because of age limits. Thus he will leave office on Feb. 8 and his seat on the bench will be filled by Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper who was elected in November.

A native of Baltimore, Bressler grew up in Hamilton and graduated high school in 1957. He then went to the University of Maryland but left to join the Army in 1958, where he attended the foreign language school studying Russian.

“I joined the Army because I really wasn’t taking it (college) seriously. I figured it would grow me up.” Bressler said.

He was right.

In 1961 when he left the Army, he had a wife, Ann, who was pregnant with the couple’s first child. He went to work selling shoes in a local store and enrolled in Miami University, again studying Russian and German.

While Bressler had lots of interests and retail work experience, the love of the law was his calling. A fan of the Perry Mason TV show, Bressler was hooked at an early age.

Bressler worked at Proctor and Gamble while attending the Salmon P. Chase College of Law, graduating in 1968. He began practicing right away setting up shop in Hamilton as a defense attorney where he remained until 1997. Bressler served as a county court judge from 1981 to 1997 and was elected County Common Pleas Judge in 1997. He was elected to the appellate bench in 2004.

‘Where the rubber meets the road’

Bressler has tried cases or handed down decisions in every type of courtroom in the area.

Each court has offered a unique set of challenges, he said, as did his years working as a defense attorney.

“It was interesting, challenging. I learned a lot about trying cases,” Bressler said.

He described the county court, similar to municipal courts, as the people’s court where judges handle a high volume of misdemeanor cases.

“It impacts the general public the most. This is where most people form their impression of the criminal justice system,” Bressler said.

Common pleas court, Bressler said, is where judges do the hard work.

“I have always felt and still do — That it’s hard work. That is where the rubber meets the road,” he said. “Trial judges make important decisions very quickly. It is an enormous responsibility.

After he left common pleas court, Bressler said he missed being in the heat of trials and cases, but his time reviewing cases as an appellate judge has been a rewarding experience.

“I absolutely love being a court of appeals judge,” Bressler said. “I love to sit down with the other judges and talk about the case, legal point ... trying to get to where a case should end up.”

Bressler and his wife, Ann, live in Hanover Twp. where they care for a horse, two cats and a dog. They have three grown children and five grandchildren.

He said he plans to take a couple months to come to terms with not working before beginning services as a mediator in common pleas court and serving as a visiting judge, if approved by the supreme court for that duty.

“I know I will be bored silly at home. That’s just not going to work,” Bressler said with a laugh. He admitted he would change the law requiring his retirement if he could, but noted he knew six years ago when he ran that one term would be it for him.

Fellow appellate Judge Robert Ringland said simply, “We are losing a great man. A lot of experience.”

Common Pleas Judge Craig Hedric, who sat at both the prosecution and defense table in Bressler’s common pleas courtroom, and Piper, who will inherit Bressler’s chambers at the appellate court, said they consider him a mentor.

“He has a lot of life left in him,” Hedric said, noting they are anxiously awaiting him to take on mediation duties.

As a young attorney and a new judge, Hedric said Bressler was someone to emulate.

“The thing is you always know no matter how he ruled, you always got a fair shot in his courtroom,” Hedric said.

Piper said it is clear the Bressler loves the law.

“He was always dedicated to being fair,” Piper said, adding that it will be tough to fill Bressler’s shoes. “He’s got a lot of style and class. And so much experience.”