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Serving as the only circuit court judge in two counties is not an easy task but Aaron Negangard said he manages.
Negangard was elected to both Dearborn and Ohio Circuit Court in 2022 and took the bench in 2023.
A graduate of Ohio University with a bachelor’s in business management, Negangard knew he wanted to go to law school so he made his way back west to Indiana University.
In 1995, Negangard graduated from Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
“My first job out of law school, I went for a local attorney doing a little bit of everything,” Negangard said.
Prior to the bench, Negangard worked as a deputy prosecutor and then became the Dearborn County prosecutor in 2006.
He was appointed by former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill in 2017 to be his chief deputy.
Negangard returned to Dearborn County in 2021 where he served as public defender.
He said if he wasn’t practicing law he would most likely be doing something in the business field.
“That’s what I looked at as my backup plan. I mean, I’ve always been interested in the law and politics, how government works, Negangard said. “I mean, that always interests me.”
Negangard is the latest Indiana trial judge to be featured in Indiana Lawyer’s Spotlight series profiling jurists in more rural counties. Here is what he had to say about life on and off the bench
What is something that surprised you about being a judge?
I had done just about everything. I was a prosecutor for three terms. I was chief deputy at the Attorney General’s Office. And then I was in private practice. … A little bit of everything on the divorce, criminal defense work and some other miscellaneous things that someone would call and need help with. … I had done some juvenile stuff and as a prosecutor, but I hadn’t spent a lot of time working on juvenile stuff. And I did very little work with the Department of Child Services. So now two counties and the only judge handling all the juvenile and CHINS cases. And so that was big and I knew that coming in, but that was probably the biggest adjustment. Everything else I dealt with at some level or another felt comfortable and especially involving litigation, but the CHINS cases and the juvenile cases I found were the ones that kept me up at night trying to work through a lot of the issues.
What is something that you have learned about yourself since becoming a judge?
I really think that my previous experience, it suited me well to become a judge. And I think having been on the defense side, prior to becoming a judge when I hadn’t really had a lot of experience in that I’d done it for a little bit prior to when I started as a deputy, part-time deputy prosecutor in ‘97. So I had only done a year and a few months on that side of the aisle. And so I mean, back doing that and having had administrative experience at the Attorney General’s office, it really helped prepare me for a lot of the challenges I would face as a judge. I would not have been as equipped to be a judge had I went straight from being a prosecutor to the judge, and that’s not knocking people who do that. At one time that may have been planned but the other experiences in the law really helped me deal with some of the challenges of the job. And so I’m grateful that I had those opportunities prior to becoming judge.
Do you have a favorite memory from your time as judge?
You get people in horrible situations, but I would say the best days are always when you do an adoption. The best adoption I had was one of those safe haven babies. Adoptions are always fun, because it’s the only time you get to see someone in court where it’s pretty much all good. Right? Everybody’s happy. And the courtroom was filled with this extended family of this second, safe haven baby that they had adopted. And to know that that was a child that may have not been born or been left to die. And now as a child, surrounded by so much love and family, I mean, that just brought joy to my heart. And I’ll never forget it.
What are you doing when you’re not on the bench?
I’d say spending time with family and friends. I’ve always worked a lot and I never really developed too many hobbies. I know how to play golf, but I’m not any good at it. I know how to hunt, but I’m not any good at it. And so I tend to, if I have spare time, I’m going to spend it with my wife or family or friends. Going out to eat or visiting at someone’s house. That’s what I like to do in my spare time.
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