MECOSTA COUNTY — Kimberly Booher, of Evart, believes her law experience makes her the right choice for voters in November to fill the position of 49th Circuit Court judge — a six-year term in Mecosta and Osceola counties.
"My practical knowledge and experience of cases I have handled in circuit court gives me the background to be the next judge,” Booher said.
Booher is a lifelong resident of Evart and has 19 years of experience as a defense attorney. She and her husband, R.J. Hammer, have been married for 20 years and have two children, a 13 year-old daughter and a 20 year-old son.
“My family are tremendously supportive of my choice to run for judge,” Booher said. “They have all done work to help me on this campaign.”
Booher does not see any negative issues with the way circuit court operations are currently being handled. She feels that if elected her skills will help keep the court running efficiently.
“I honestly believe our circuit court works very well,” Booher said. “I see no glaring issues with the system. Once I’m on the bench and behind the scenes not seeing it from a lawyer’s perspective, some things could change. I think my extremely good multi-tasking and organizational skills will help me function very well as judge.”
Much of her law career has involved working with circuit court. She also handles cases in probate court and district court, which she said gives her the knowledge of courtroom procedures to be a good judge.
“You can always find the law, but it’s hard to learn the procedures,” Booher said. “Knowing whether a plea agreement is good or bad, knowing sentencing guidelines in criminal work and how they apply to a case is extremely important. If you haven’t litigated many cases in circuit court, it takes awhile to get up to speed, but I can do that right at the start.
"I have handled many cases in our probate and district courts. I could easily step in and cover for other judges if something was to arise. If you don’t have practical experience, it would take a while to build that same constancy. I would be able to provide that cohesion between the courts.”
Booher wants voters to understand they need a candidate who knows circuit court. She hopes voters will research her work and the work of her opponent before voting on Nov. 4. Booher is running against Eric Williams, of Big Rapids, who is the attorney for the city of Big Rapids.
“I am a perfect fit to keep the continuity going in our court system,” Booher said.
EDITORS NOTE: The Pioneer makes every effort to keep the local electorate informed of each candidate running for office. A story featuring Eric Williams running for 49th Circuit Court judge ran in the Pioneer on March 29. As the general election nears a synopsis of each candidate running for local and state office will appear in the Pioneer.
