Longtime District Judge Calls It Quits After Fulfilling Career

When Joanne Kline was appointed district judge in Bristol Township at 38, little did she know she was beginning a career that would span five elections and nearly 30 years.

“To everything, there is a season and my season is up,” Kline said recently.

Kline heard her last cases at the Bath Road district courthouse and retired on January 4. A senior judge will fill Kline’s position until a new judge is appointed.

“There have been a lot of changes; a lot of happy moments and sad moments have happened here,” Kline said reflecting on her 30 years of service.

The longtime district judge explained why she decided to retire. At 67, she wants to be able to spend more time with her family – her husband, kids and grand children – and have more happiness in her life.

“We don’t deal with anything but problems here,” she said.

There are happy and satisfying occasions like weddings and resolutions to problems, but much of the work going on in the courthouse is negative, Kline said.

The recently-retired district judge said the job has changed over the years since she started. She said the position has pivoted from one of a first arbiter of fairness and justice to something different.

Kline feels bad about not finishing the term for which she was elected, but feels that her fleeting empathy and passion for the work means she should step aside as a full-time district judge.

Before Kline, her mother, Anna V. Huhn, was a district judge in the Levittown-area for close to 20 years. Kline recalled memories of overnight arraignments and big cases that her mom handled.

“I never knew how hard she worked or how stressed she was,” Kline explained.

Kline respected her mother as a mom, of course, but more importantly, as a woman. Some of the most important wisdom Kline received about the job came from her mom, she said.

As she begins retirement, Kline is excited to be able to spend more time with her family.

“I don’t know yet what I am going to miss, but it could be a lot of different things,” Kline said, adding she will miss coming to court in the morning and greeting the clerks and all of the people she has met throughout her career.

“I have met so many wonderful people.”

From district attorneys to victims and defendants. Everyone is a person, Kline explained, and most defendants are redeemable. Kline has received letters and visits of previous defendants that were grateful for her rulings and fairness

Although Kline is retiring from being a full-time district judge, she has filed the paperwork to be a senior judge who will fill in at other courts when necessary.