John Michael "Jay" Mastin invested as Marshall Co. District Judge

me and liles
On 18 Jan. 2013, John Michael “Jay” Mastin was invested as District Court Judge in Marshall County, AL. Jay’s grandmother Joyce O’Brien sent the following news article published in their church bulletin. Thank you for sharing this wonderful news, Joyce! This is a very proud moment in Johnson Family history. Judge Jay Mastin is the son of Michael Dennis “Mike” and Belinda Joyce “Lindy” Mastin, grandson of Seth Michael “Mickey” and Joyce Graham O’Brien and great-grandson of Joseph Nathaniel and Dorothy Dixson Johnson O’Brien (Uncle "Joe" and Aunt "Dot"). Congratulations and best wishes, Judge Jay! We know you will have a long and honorable tenure on the bench.

Update 22 May 2013! We now also have the news article, “Mastin named new district judge” with photo of Judge Jay [pictured here (left) with his “longtime legal mentor and friend” AL Criminal Appeals Court Judge Liles Burke(right)]. This was published in the Sand Mountain Reporter on 18 Jan. 2013. See that newspaper article below the church bulletin article. Thank, Joyce, for sharing these great write-ups!

_New District Judge


John Michael (Jay) Mastin was sworn-in on January 18, 2013, at the Marshall County Courthouse in Albertville to fill a position as a District Judge for Marshall County. Jay is the son of Mike and Lindy Mastin, and the grandson of Joyce O’Brien and the late Seth Michael (Mickey) O’Brien, and great-grandson of Dot and Joe O’Brien.

Jay’s wife Natalie and his two daughters Hannah and Lydia were present and looking on as Jay took the oath of office from Judge Liles Burke, a former Marshall County District Judge, who is now a State of Alabama Appellate Judge. Other members of Jay’s family and many friends and colleagues were present to witness the investiture. An extended family member present to welcome Jay to his judgeship was Judge Pete Johnson, retired District Judge from Jefferson County.

Jay’s office is in Albertville in the courthouse annex. He and Judge Howard Hawk are designated as Marshall County’s two Family Court judges. They handle civil domestic relations, child support, and juvenile hearings.

We are all so proud of Jay as he has reached this milestone in his life. He graduated from Albertville High School in 2000. He received both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees from Auburn University in 2004. He graduated from Mississippi College School of Law in 2007, passed the Alabama State Bar, and began practicing law with his father in Albertville in 2007.

We wish Jay well in this very important work. A quote that Jay gave The Sand Mountain Reporter stated, “As an attorney, you can only do so much, but the opportunity to be a judge for deciding the types of cases about which you are passionate as a person is very special.”


_From the Sand Mountain Reporter, published 22 Jan. 2013…

Mastin_Burke
Newly appointed District Judge Jay Mastin, left, was recently sworn in by
Alabama Criminal Appeals Court Judge Liles Burke.
(Photo published in the newspaper article.)


Mastin named new district judge

The Reporter | Geoffrey Melcher
Photo caption: Newly appointed District Judge Jay Mastin, left, was recently sworn in by Alabama Criminal Appeals Court Judge Liles Burke.

Posted: Friday, January 18, 2013 3:52 pm | Updated: 3:54 pm, Fri Jan 18, 2013.
By Geoffrey Melcher |
gmelcher@sandmountainreporter.com

Recently appointed Albertville District Court Judge John Michael “Jay” Mastin, 30, was sworn into his new position Friday morning in the Albertville Courthouse.

As he took an oath to uphold the duties of his judgeship with his wife Natalie and daughters Hannah and Lydia looking on, the process of replacing Judge Tim Riley, who became the county’s third circuit judge earlier this month, was complete.

Riley, who was elected into a newly created position in the expansion of the circuit, will accompany Judge Tim Jolley and Judge Mitch Floyd at the Guntersville Courthouse, where all criminal cases, criminal violence, domestic custody, domestic violence, trust deliberations and simple misdemeanors will now be heard.

According to Mastin’s mother Lindy, his longtime legal mentor and friend Liles Burke, formerly of the Marshall Circuit Court, who is currently serving as a judge the Court of Criminal Appeals in Montgomery, made a special trip from the capital to swear him in.

“A friend of mine asked me if I had any funny memories of Jay in the courtroom and the thing is, there’s nothing funny about him. He’s a 60 year-old in a 19-year-old’s body,” Burke playfully joked in front of a ceremony audience full of Mastin’s colleagues, friends and family.

Currently, Mastin and Judge Howard Hawk are designated as Marshall County’s two Family Court judges with Hawk continuing to serve as Presiding Family Court Judge and Presiding Juvenile Judge.

Between Mastin and Hawk, the Albertville Courthouse will now handle all civic domestic relations, child support and juvenile hearings.

“We’ve become more specialized so I’ll be doing most juvenile and child support cases,” Mastin said.

Mastin, who played basketball while attending Albertville High School, completed his undergraduate education at Auburn University before going on to receive his law degree from Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss.

The judge said his main area of expertise over the years has been representing children as their guardian ad litem during legal proceedings as well as serving parents referred by the courts who couldn’t afford an attorney.

“The indigent defense contract is a yearly contract that I apply for with the state that any time a child comes in and they’ve gotten in trouble or have been abused, I make sure they are taken care of and put into a good home, “ he added.

“Since 2007, I’ve had a diverse practice over the years as an attorney alongside my father, who does primarily criminal defense work, but what I’m mostly excited about is being able to have the opportunity to represent kids and parents at this level.

“As an attorney, you can only do so much, but the opportunity to be a judge for deciding the types of cases your passionate about as a person is very special.”

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