Judge Tim Lam Seeks Re-Election

Monticello attorney Tim Lam is seeking re-election to the office of Chief Magistrate of Jasper County.

Elected in 2016, Judge Lam has been practicing law for going on 31 years. He says that having a doctor’s degree in law and being an active trial attorney for so long has been immensely helpful in performing the duties of Chief Magistrate Judge.

“Most of the time, I am presented with fairly routine and ordinary issues to resolve. But often someone brings something before me that calls for an in-depth analysis of very intricate and technical points of law.”

His associate magistrate is Danyale Hardwick. “Judge Hardwick has been of enormous help in handling our workload.”

Judge Lam was also somewhat surprised by the amount of work the magistrate office actually does.

“I am on a pace to issue over 1,000 criminal arrest warrants this year. That’s an amazing statistic. And each one has to be examined, with the officer’s affidavits examined as well, with great specificity. I am constantly in and out of the Sheriff’s Department doing first appearances, bond hearings, and so forth.”

Judge Lam just celebrated his 30th wedding anniversary with Janice Lam, a local craft business owner. They have four children: April, retired from the U.S. Air Force; Tori, now living in South Carolina with her husband, John; Jonathan, who graduated from Jasper County High School earlier this year, and Alex, now in his junior year at the high school. In addition, they have five grandchildren.

Judge Lam enjoys the country life, riding his John Deer tractor, growing vegetables, raising chickens and pigs. His hobbies include studying foreign languages, advanced mathematics, and reading.

“I believe that it’s good for a person to engage in a broad spectrum of activities, body and mine. Keeps you healthy,” he says with a wink.