By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
The new year will bring a new Judicial Circuit to Tucker County. Anne Marie Armstrong is running for Judge in the new 22nd Judicial Circuit that will encompass Tucker and Preston Counties. Armstrong has been a prosecutor in Preston County for 20 years. Armstrong has been a resident of Preston County from 24 years.
According to Armstrong, she has served as a Prosecutor for 20 years, but also has a background in victim advocacy and is currently Chief Assistant Prosecutor in Preston County “I’m Chief Assistant Prosecutor in Preston County,” Armstrong said. “I’ve been working in the Prosecutor’s Office for 20 years,” Armstrong said. “The first Prosecutor hired me as Victim Advocate, the second Prosecutor hired me as Assistant Prosecutor, then the Prosecutor who we have now, Jay Shay, he hired me as Chief Assistant.”
Armstrong said that she handles all the abuse and neglect cases in Preston County. According to Armstrong, the increase in abuse and neglect cases is one of the reasons that the State has redistricted the Judicial Circuit and merged Tucker County with Preston County. “One of the reasons they have redistricted this County and merged Tucker and Preston Counties, is because the abuse/neglect docket has just taken over,” Armstrong said. “The caseload is overwhelming.”
Armstrong said that the abuse and neglect cases have a lot of time restrictions on them that will often bump other cases that do not have the same time constraints. “Basically what happens is there is certain time frames for abuse/neglect cases,” Armstrong said. “Say we have an adjudicatory hearing that has to be heard within 30 days, civil cases get bumped…you have to have the abuse/neglect within 30 days.”
Armstrong said she feels that she has the most experience and best background to be Judge in the new Circuit Court. “I’ve been doing abuse/neglect for 18 years and since that is the majority of the court docket, I believe that I am the best qualified for the Judge,” Armstrong said. “I have all the experience with abuse/neglect. I have more courtroom experience.”
Armstrong said her passion is in striving to keep children safe. “I’m very passionate about keeping children safe,” Armstrong said. “What I’ve seen in 18 years, it just horrific.”
Armstrong said that many of the contributing factors include drugs and lack of employment. Armstrong also said that she has been working long enough to see the cycle of violence in action. “I’ve been doing it so long that I am seeing children that I had removed from their parents now having children and I am removing their children,” Armstrong said. “Its a cycle of violence.”
