Bontrager, William
Date(s) of Interview: August 31, 1977
Interviewer: Anderson, Terry H.
William Bontrager, attorney and judge in Elkhart, Indiana, discusses the legal profession in Indiana.
He first outlined his childhood and educational background, culminating in a law degree from the Indiana University School of Law. He discusses his father's, D. Russell Bontrager, career in the law. He reflects upon the success and actions of the Indiana Bar Association.
He discusses the public's perceptions of the legal profession in Indiana. Mr. Bontrager describes the powers and procedures of the courts in Elkhart, Indiana and the rest of the state.
He describes his appointment to the Indiana Board of Corrections, focusing on the innovations and challenges of the correctional system in Indiana. He outlines criminal rehabilitation programs like work release, shock probation, and probation. He discusses correctional facilities and their relationship to the community they are located in. He discusses the interactions between the Board of Corrections, the Department of Corrections, and the governor's office.
Mr. Bontrager finally reflects on the political aspects of his tenure as judge in Elkhart, and the public's influence on a judge's decision making process.
What a bunch of featherbedding hokum. None of that pseudo social crap works. But it does fill in the time until retirement to a good right to carry, no income tax state.
Nope, the couple’s last name is Borntrager not Bontrager. There are hundreds if not thousands with those two last names around Goshen. The actual target of the SWAT team was a man who was being arrested for impersonating a police officer while working as a repo man. There is a day care at the house where the warrant was supposed to be served. I’m not sure why SWAT was needed to arrest him.
Also, the house number is clearly marked on a mailbox across the road, and the boxes are not grouped together.