Breaking the Ice: Judge William Koch finds community through cycling

For one evening a week, Hennepin County District Court Judge William Koch leaves the bench behind to join other judges and attorneys for a cycling expedition of the Twin Cities.

Koch is one of several members of the Hennepin County Bar Association Bike Club who have been with the group since it got its start in 2013. Eight to 14 usually attend. The club welcomes new riders.

“It’s good exercise,” Koch said of the roughly 2½-hour rides. “But more importantly, it’s a way to stay connected with attorneys and friends that you don’t see on a day-to-day basis.”

Before his 2007 appointment to a judgeship, Koch’s experience included working in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, in private practice and as a federal prosecutor. He currently works in Hennepin Probate/Mental Health Court.

His job involves extensive work with clerks and colleagues to make courts accessible and responsive and lots of reading outside the courtroom.

“Most of us never take all the vacation we’ve earned,” Koch said. “We’re just too busy.”

Name: William Koch

Title: Judge, Fourth Judicial District

Education: BSCE, Duke University, School of Engineering; J.D., George Washington University Law School

Q: Best way to start a conversation with you?

A: On a bike ride. If you see me, feel free to say hi, and the conversation will flow. I’m the same person I was before I put a robe on. People can get intimidated by the position and look past the person.

Q: Why law school?

A: My degrees in engineering didn’t excite me. I had an Air Force commitment, because I was Air Force ROTC undergrad. Going into the Air Force, I’d have had a position that wouldn’t have been that invigorating. I got them to let me go to law school, I went in as lawyer and loved it.

Q: What are you reading?

A: The last few were: “A Walk in the Park” by Kevin Fedarko, about someone who hiked across the Grand Canyon. It’s more treacherous than you’d think; “Justice at War,” by Peter Irons, about the Japanese internment during World War II; and “Big Guns,” by Steve Israel, a novel about what would happen if a law in the U.S. required people to buy guns.

Q: Pet peeve?

A: Litter.

Q: Best part of your work?

A: My chambers team. I have two law clerks and a court reporter. My court reporter, Mindy, has been with me for almost the entire time. My clerks have all been great. In Hennepin, we’ve got 63 judges and a dozen or so referees. They’re all good people, focused on the right things, and want to work together.

Q: Most challenging?

A: Like most public officials, we can be easily criticized. Unlike most public officials, we can’t just hop on social media or respond to every critique. We have rules of conduct that limit what we can say about a case or an issue.

Q: Where would you take someone visiting your hometown?

A: I grew up outside Philadelphia. Independence Hall is special. Seeing the Liberty Bell and where a lot of early work for the country was done is neat. Locally, I’d take people out to Lake Minnetonka. We were up north recently, and I love Gooseberry Falls and the whole North Shore.

Q: Legal figure you admire?

A: Most are constitutional lawyers, like Thurgood Marshall. I work a lot with the Hennepin County Bar Association, and I’m familiar with many of the volunteer lawyers. That’s impressive, when people use their skills to help people who could otherwise be lost in the system.

Q: Misconception about your work?

A: Many people think of a judge as an island. We do make the final decision and put our name on it. But we work closely with our clerks. We rely on them to make the system work. If people understood that you have to convince the judge of your point of view, but part of that is presenting it in a way that’s approachable and understandable by the clerks and the judge, that’s really beneficial.

Q: Favorite book, movie or TV show about lawyers?

A: Henry Fonda’s “12 Angry Men” is still relevant. And, much lighter, “My Cousin Vinny.” The best attorneys are themselves, they’re whoever they are. Joe Pesci’s character is rough around the edges and not the smoothest. But he questions the witness in a way to get them to let their guard down, to get out very helpful information.