Vol. 28, No. 5 #2 (October 2005). Deegan Returns to the Bench.

• Author: By Mary Angell

Wyoming Bar Journal

2005.

Vol. 28, No. 5 #2 (October 2005).

Deegan Returns to the Bench

WYOMING LAWYEROctober 2005/Vol. XXVIII, No. 5Deegan Returns to the BenchBy Mary Angell

The day after his swearing in as a new judge in Wyoming's Sixth Judicial District, Nick Deegan was eager to tackle its burgeoning caseload. "Load me up," he told the Wyoming Lawyer. "I'm ready to roll."

Deegan, 54, fills a new seat on the bench created by the Wyoming Legislature in response to a backlog in the courts in Campbell, Weston and Crook counties.

"I got right to work," he said. "I'm sure they have done the very best they can under the circumstances. I think it will take me about three months to appreciate the ebb and flow of the caseload."

Deegan is no stranger to judge's robes. After serving as municipal court judge in Rawlins from 1983 to 1988, he was appointed county judge for Campbell County, where he gained retention in 1990 and served until 1994.

In 1995, he went into private practice in Gillette. Soon after, he was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives and served nearly three terms, from 1997 until 2002, when he started as a clerk for Judge Terrence O'Brien in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Now, after an 11-year absence, he's returned to the bench.

"It's good to get back," he said. "It's funny how it comes back to you. I got on the bench yesterday and found myself taking notes as I used to. Wearing the black robe and being on the bench is not unfamiliar to me; it's getting current with child support (statutes) and working through the court proceedings that are all brand new."

"The district court tends to see cases involving more parties than those in circuit court, and the litigants' use of attorneys is the norm at this level rather than a rarity," Deegan said.

"District court cases are far more complex," he said. "They raise more complex issues. With the coalbed methane industry (here), you have a lot of interesting cases, conflicts between the owners and the people with rights to develop minerals on the property. It's all together different for me. The amount of money in these cases is way different. It will be a real challenge for me."

He added that the sentencing is also more consequential.

"Here we're dealing with trials of criminal cases, felonies, making decisions whether or not somebody needs to be sent to the...