By Mallory Hartigan
Retired Judge Nemenoff is not the stereotypical hard-hitting judge from today’s television story lines. Instead, he could more accurately be compared to Mr. Rogers with his friendly. laid back demeanor.
The judge who just couldn’t stay away from court
Even in retirement, Judge Brian Nemenoff, 66, cannot stay away from the Peoria County Courthouse and the people that meander through the halls of the imposing building.
Born in 1947 to parents Sylvia and Dave in Chicago, Nemenoff grew up in the Aurora area, eventually graduating from West Aurora High School and moving on to college at Miami University in Ohio. He received his law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law, “back when tuition was $500-$600 a semester,” he said.
“My mother always told me I wasn’t any good at science and I had to be professional [as a child],” said Nemenoff. “So I decided to become a lawyer and that transferred into applying to be a judge.”
After being admitted to the bar in 1974, Nemenoff served as a Peoria city prosecutor, mainly in civic court until his appointment to an associate judge in July 1986.
“They ended up giving me the title of city attorney, which doesn’t mean I was the top dog there, but that was just the title they gave me,” said Nemenoff.
Becoming a judge happened by accident for Nemenoff when he was in his early 30s.
“I never did try [to become a judge],” said Nemenoff. “I was helping someone else get an appointment. I guess I knew some of the judges better than he did, and so I was over here trying to help him out and someone pulled me aside and said that some of the circuit judges were interested in seeing if I was interested in a future [on the bench]…Some people thought I would make a good judge.”
Transitioning to the bench as an associate judge was easy, Nemenoff said.
His first assignment was less “Law & Order”and more “Here Comes the Bride,” as Nemenoff officiated a wedding for Judge John A. Whitney after being sworn in earlier that day.
Life as a judge made Nemenoff a little more careful not to embarrass or disrespect the integrity of the job. However, he was not worried about threats to his life, although the police department was on two occasions.
“Oddly enough, the time that I thought was more threatening was sort of not considered a real threat, and the one I thought the guy was just off his meds, they took seriously,” said Nemenoff. “They actually escorted me out of the court room. I had a perimeter of two to three deputies walking me over to the parking deck, and a police officer or deputy followed me home and didn’t leave until the garage door was down.”
Today, Nemenoff works as a mediator for family dispute cases, mostly involving children.
“My role is to use whatever experience I have to try and get them to settle as much as possible on the children’s issue for relatively inexpensive, quick and less stressful situations,” said Nemenoff. “The worst part is [handing] your children over to a judge…My job is to get them to believe that I’m neutral or objective and nudge them in the direction that I think the courts are going to decide.”
Nemenoff said that what he missed the most about being a judgee are the people he worked alongside for so many years.
“One of the reasons I built up my business as a mediator was so I could come downtown and see my friends,” said Nemenoff.
The feeling seems to be mutual; courthouse employees joke that the friendly neighborhood judge went on a ‘walkabout’ visiting with people around the courthouse.
Retired life is treating Nemenoff well. He spends a lot of time with his six grandchildren, one of whom will begin kindergarten this fall. He and his wife are planning several trips around the world, including Portugal and Scotland.
“For now I’m happy spoiling my grandkids,” said Nemenoff.
The history of mediation
Most people think of mediators as the “relationship savers” or marriage counselors. This misunderstood profession has a in-depth history spanning all the way back to Ancient Greece and the Romans. For a brief history of the profession, go to http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/864354.