Roberts points to varied background
Judicial candidate started out delivering mail.

After Dale Roberts graduated from Hickman High School in 1970, he decided to forgo college and learn more about himself.

So the red-haired teen took a job driving a truck for the U.S. Postal Service. Each morning, Roberts rumbled out of Columbia at 5 a.m., delivering mail from Renick to Brunswick, where he spent the afternoon working at Orscheln Farm & Home Supply. At 4:40 p.m., Roberts returned home, sometimes delivering mail to the same towns in reverse order.

In hindsight, he said, putting off college and driving a truck was one of the best decisions of his young life. "It broadened my horizons," he said.

Many years later, several families along his route traveled to Columbia to attend Roberts’ wedding, showing him the value of a man’s life lies in the relationships he has made.

The Columbia attorney, 53, has tried to remain true to that lesson. When he decided to run for a new seat on the Boone County associate circuit bench, Roberts turned to old friends for advice.

Among the first he contacted was Air Force Maj. Grant McLoone, an attorney stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. They met in the mid-1980s when they shared adjacent study carrels at the MU School of Law.

"I consider him my best friend," McLoone said. "He’s an awesome guy, and I would trust him with my life. He has integrity - I think that is his strongest quality. He cares about being fair and honest. Dale is a good, solid guy who you can count on. He is a good man, he really is."

Roberts is competing in the Aug. 8 primary with fellow Republican Richard Hicks, 39, an assistant Boone County prosecutor. The winner will face in November the victor of the Democratic primary race between C.J. Dykhouse, 33, a Columbia attorney, Deborah Daniels, 55, a former Boone County prosecutor, and 33-year-old Columbia attorney Cavanaugh Noce.

Roberts grew up in Columbia, the fourth of five children born to Mary Ann and Fred Roberts. His father operated Parks Department Store, which opened in 1966 in the Parkade Plaza. Before that, the elder Roberts ran The New York Store on Eighth Street.

As a boy, Roberts said he was an outdoorsy kid. He once had a dachshund named Hansie and a de-scented skunk named Odoriferous that he called "Odie." He remembers the pets lying together near the fireplace in his family’s home at Garth and Crestmere avenues.

Roberts attended Grant Elementary, West Junior High and Hickman. After driving a truck for the post office, Roberts said, he made the second-best decision: He joined the Air Force in 1976. Roberts received an honorable discharge in 1981 and was awarded The Meritorious Service Medal.

"It wasn’t the politically correct thing to do at the time, but it was the best thing for me," Roberts said. "When you are put together with guys from all over, you learn a lot about yourself and other people. On the bench, a judge has to be able to empathize with other people."

Under state law, an associate circuit judge has jurisdiction over all misdemeanor and over felony cases until they are bound over to circuit court for trial. Associate circuit judges also handle civil cases with damage claims as high as $25,000. Their salary, set by statute and paid by the state, is $96,000.

In 2005, associate circuit judges in the 13th Judicial District, which includes Boone and Callaway counties, disposed of 5,885 misdemeanor cases. Some 5,000 cases were settled through guilty pleas, six went to jury trials and 19 were decided by a bench trial. More than 700 cases were dismissed.

When Roberts left the military, he wanted to be an attorney. He attended Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., majoring in Latin and classical civilization. In 1984, he enrolled at the MU School of Law, and by the end of the 1980s Roberts was practicing law in Columbia, concentrating on family, criminal and business law. During that time, Roberts litigated bench trials as well as some jury trials and also presented a case in federal court and the Western District Court of Appeals.

Roberts said his attorney years in private practice would serve him well on the bench. "I can appreciate where attorneys are coming from," he said. "I understand the position of the attorney and the client."

Roberts said he’s had the opportunity to rule on continuances during his 12-year stint as an administrative law judge in Jefferson City, beginning in 1992. As chief judge of a nine-judge panel, Roberts heard cases involving water, telephone, gas and nuclear power utilities. The cases ranged from complaints by mom-and-pop businesses to changes proposed by large utilities, Roberts said.

More recently, Roberts served as director of state Alcohol and Tobacco Control, appointed in 2005 by Gov. Matt Blunt. He stepped down to run for judge.

Roberts said he would try to make decisions by following the law as written - not as he wishes it were written. "A judge has to have the ability to limit his decision to what facts are in evidence and what the law is," he said. "You have to make a decision that is right under the law, not right according to friends and neighbors."

Among Roberts’ passions are animal rescue and gun safety. Between 2003 and 2005, he served on the Central Missouri Humane Society Board of Directors. Roberts also shares his home with a rescued bull terrier, Odysseus.

Several years ago, Roberts began helping the Columbia Police Officers Association put on the Midwest Police, SWAT, SMG Championship, where he met Bryan Piester, who has since retired after 20 years with Columbia Police Department. Piester jumped at the chance to help his friend’s campaign.

"I’ve known Dale for 10 years," Piester said. "He is very ethical and moral, just a real good person. He is very fair and always thinks things out."

Most important, Roberts said, a judge is responsible to the person appearing before him. "This is their day in court, and they deserve your undivided attention," he said. "To the person in front of you, their case is the most important case of the day."

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Reach Sara Agnew at (573) 815-1717 or sagnew@tribmail.com.

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