By: Shannon Bachar
In juvenile courts, the goal is not to punish the juveniles, but rather to aid them in the direction to lead a better and crime-free life. Retired Judge Chris L. Fredericksen did just that as he took on cases involving adoptions, abuse and drugs with the hope to put young people back on track. The court also worked with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) to assist the children.
Retired Judge Chris L. Fredericksen shares experience:
Retired Judge Chris L. Fredericksen didn’t plan to become a lawyer.
“I wanted to be a civil engineer, but during my freshman year, my math counselor said I wasn’t going to make it,” he said. “So he said to do something else.”
He did, and his career lead to become a strong advocate for area youth. He was accepted at four law schools and ultimately chose Valparaiso University Law School, as the others were in his hometown Chicago and he said he didn’t want to go to a big city.
Fredericksen was in the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office for 22 years, from 1976 to 1998.
“I think the first time [he considered becoming a judge] was 1994 and there were three retirements in a row and I figured maybe I’ll have a shot to become a judge,” he said.
According to Fredericksen, he took a different route on his journey to become an associate judge as applicants typically met with the circuit judges. Because he had been in the courthouse for a long time, he had created a better network.
“I worked in this courthouse for 22 years already and I figured most of them already knew me,” he said. “If they didn’t believe I was competent, I would have found out one way or the other if they selected me. I didn’t get [the position] the first go around,” he said.
Fredericksen was initially assigned to family relations court, also known as divorce court, which was a new area of law for him.
“They just kind of throw you in there, and it’s sink or swim,” he said.
He moved from family relations court to juvenile court and in later years volunteered to remain in juvenile court, as he enjoyed the docket and helping the young people.
“Every juvenile case that I was involved with was very challenging because you’re dealing with children, trying to get them permanence, trying to get them to adhere to the norms of society and not commit any additional criminal offenses,” he said. “Those cases were all very important to me.”
He remembers one case with the Grys family in Tazewell County, of a little boy suffering from brittle bone disease who was about to be adopted at the time.
“He was only about 3 and a half feet tall, and he was such a cute little guy and so happy, and later just by happenstance, his family received a house through an ABC show, “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” in Pekin,” he said.
When Fredericksen was on the case, he let the young boy wear his judicial robe after he was adopted.
“When you’re a judge, you don’t really get a lot of fun things to do,” he said. “Adoptions were always the best.”
Fredericksen was passionate about the long-term welfare of the children in juvenile court. The court worked with Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (CASA), a program that began in 1977, according to this timeline.
Another memorable case was part of the abuse and neglect docket and involved a family with five children, in which the parent’s parental rights had been terminated. The children had been in different foster placements up north and could not speak with the judge because of a lack of travel funds. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) went to interview the children at their foster placements, who ordered counseling for the kids, and the Cook County Court accepted the case so that they could see a judge every six months.
“It was a happy day for me because these kids wanted to be heard,” Fredericksen said.
Reflecting on his time as a juvenile court judge, Fredericksen said he misses the people, court reporters, clerks and bailiffs and overall the people he worked with.
“The subject matter was difficult dealing with children because you see so many and hear so many sad stories, but the people I worked with, I loved,” he said. “Even the kids – I loved the kids. Sometimes they didn’t love me, but I always loved them.”
Now that he’s newly retired as of September 2013, he has plans to spend more time with family and read for pleasure and yet, still holds strong feelings for the future of the troubled youth.
“I just hope that by being in juvenile court, perhaps I helped some of these kids get back on track so that they could lead successful, happy, safe lives where they didn’t have to rely on gang member, drugs and criminal activity,” he said. “That’s how I felt, and how I still feel.”