Powell, Martin are GOP candidates for judge

After Superior Court Judge David J. Holt announced that he would retire at the end of his current term on the bench, four attorneys filed their candidacy in the election that will determine his successor.

When citizens go to the polls to vote in the Primary Election on Tuesday, both Republicans and Democrats will choose between two candidates. The respective winners of these two primary races will represent their party on the ballot in the General Election next fall. The winner of this race in the General Election will then be seated on the Superior Court bench on Jan. 1, 2009 for a six-year term.

The Democrat candidates are Jacob Fish and Karen Strueh. They were featured in Wednesday's Greene County Daily World.

The Republican candidates are Dena Benham-Martin and David N. Powell.

Dena Benham-Martin is a life-long resident of Greene County who was valedictorian of her class when she graduated from Worthington-Jefferson High School in 1987.

She earned her Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice, with honors, from Indiana University in Bloomington then went on to obtain her Juris Doctor from Indiana University in Bloomington.

Prior to attending law school, she worked in the Greene County Prosecutor's Office as the Victim Assistance Coordinator and as an administrative assistant. She also worked in the Monroe County Prosecutor's Office as the Victim Assistance Coordinator. While attending law school full-time, she worked as a law clerk in the Greene County Prosecutor's Office.

Benham-Martin is now the Chairperson for the Criminal Justice Program at Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana in Terre Haute and she is the acting Chairperson for the Paralegal Program at Ivy Tech.

As an educator, Benham-Martin says she enjoys training students in the intricacies of the law and our legal system. She supervises numerous adjunct instructors, some of whom are professors from other universities, and she serves as a faculty advisor to students.

Under her leadership, the school's Criminal Justice Program has quadrupled in size.

Benham-Martin also regularly serves as Judge Pro Tempore in the Greene Superior Court, and she has served as Judge Pro Tempore in the Greene Circuit Court as well. Through these opportunities on the bench, she says she gained valuable experience as a judicial officer.

Benham-Martin formerly owned a successful general practice law firm in Worthington where she acquired extensive experience representing clients in family law, criminal law, real estate, estate planning, probate and guardianship matters.

Additionally, she has represented the Owen County Office of Family and Children in cases of child abuse and neglect, and provided legal representation for the Greene County Office of Family and Children when their attorney had a conflict or was otherwise unavailable.

Benham-Martin has served as a public defender for Greene County and during each year in her practice, she was awarded one of the part-time public defender contracts.

She and her husband of 14 years, Dean, have two young children and reside in the Worthington area. Her parents, grandparents and father and mother-in law also are residents of Worthington and she counts several generations of her family as residents of Greene County.

Community service is important to Benham-Martin and she has been active in several organizations and efforts over the years. Her community involvement includes the Worthington Christian Church, Greene County Foundation Board, Greene County Bar Association, Greene County Relay for Life team, Ivy Tech March of Dimes team, Ivy Tech Faculty Senate, Indiana Ivy Tech Criminal Justice Curriculum Committee, Ivy Tech Paralegal Curriculum Committee, Ivy Tech statewide distance education course development committee, as well as numerous internal committees within the Ivy Tech Wabash Valley Region.

Looking to the future of Greene Superior Court, Benham-Martin sees challenges but says she is prepared.

"Our courts face enormous challenges with increasing substance abuse, divorce, custody battles, and child abuse. I am seeking this judicial position because I have the education and experience to make a difference in these issues in the Greene County court system. The skills I acquired as a victim assistance coordinator, practicing attorney and educator have prepared me to be fair-minded and efficient in administering the court," said Benham-Martin.

Benham-Martin says it would be an honor to serve as judge.

"I'm proud to have been born and raised in Greene County. I look forward to applying my education, experience and commitment to hard work for the betterment of my community and the people of Greene County. I will give all persons who come before me the opportunity to be heard and be patient, dignified and courteous to all. I have the personality and temperament to fulfill these obligations. I plan to use up-to-date technology to increase efficiency and security in the courtroom. I would be honored to serve the citizens of Greene County as the next judge of the Greene County Superior Court," said Benham-Martin.

For more information, visit Benham-Martin's campaign Web site at www.voteDena.com

David N. Powell served as Greene County Prosecutor longer than any prosecutor in county history -- five consecutive terms (20 years, 1987-2006) and he has been practicing law since 1981.Powell says as prosecutor, he tried more than 100 jury trials, and more murder trials than anyone in Greene County history.

"I have vast experience dealing with human behavior, from the simplest complaint to the most complex involving every aspect of human suffering or loss. As prosecutor, I managed and mentored law students and attorneys, and many still practice in Greene County. I have also managed a large county budget and legal support staff. The court staff is much smaller than the prosecutor's. I have worked closely with each member of the probation department and community corrections and I still serve on the Community Corrections Board," said Powell.

Powell played key roles in the getting the new community corrections and work release centers in the county and he says as Judge, he would continue to work closely with the probation and corrections departments.

In 2006, Powell was honored by being given the "Shine Feller" award by Indiana Prosecutors -- the highest honor and award given by Prosecutors in Indiana.

When Powell was attending Indiana University, he was a U.S. Air Force ROTC scholarship recipient. He received an A.B. degree from IU in Economics and Political Science in 1978. His J.D. from IU at Indianapolis followed in 1981 and then he served on active duty as a Captain in the JudgeAdvocate's General Corps of the U.S. Air Force from 1981-86. During this time, he spent one year in the role of prosecutor, two years as defense counsel and he was involved in over 40 criminal trials. Two other years were spent evaluating tort claims.

Powell continues to serve as a Staff Judge Advocate providing legal advice, support and services to Air Force Commanders and Airmen in the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard. For the last 22 years, he has served one weekend a month and two weeks of active duty each year. Currently he manage four other attorneys and four paralegals as a Colonel in the Air National Guard and plans to continue this service until his mandatory retirement date in 2011.

While on active duty, Powell lived in Tokyo, Japan from 1982-85 and was on duty in Okinawa, Korea and the Philippines. While in the Air Guard and Air Force Reserve, he has been sent on short tours in Italy, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Powell and his wife of 28 years, Teresa, have two sons, Andrew and Michael, both now attending college. The family attends St. Peter Church in Linton.

Powell grew up on a small farm near Freedom and now lives on a farm near Worthington. He says he's always been interested in agriculture and was proud to be named Greene County Conservation Farmer of the year in 1993. Powell sponsors a trophy for the 4-H livestock show, supports local youth sports teams and he has served as a Little League and AAU coach.

Powell has served as a founding member, secretary and president of the Greene County Economic Development Corporation; president of the Greene County Extension Board; president of Greene County Community Corrections; secretary, treasurer and president of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Association; president of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity at IU; and board member for the Middle Way House Shelter for Women.

Besides representing citizens on a variety of legal issues in a civil practice with attorney Fred Jewell for 10 years (1986-1996), Powell represented the Town of Worthington, White River Valley School Corporation and several local businesses and banks. He donated his services to WRV during the consolidation.

Powell says every year he has practiced, he has exceeded the continuing legal education requirements and he is regularly asked to provide legal instructions to lawyers and other groups like auditors, law enforcement officers, farmers, foresters, polygraph examiners and schools. He has never charged for a presentation.

He is also an expert on Trial Advocacy and has provided legal training to other lawyers on this subject for several years.

Since leaving the Prosecutor's Office in 2006, he has been serving as Senior Prosecutor in a number of neighboring counties. Currently he has approximately 20 active criminal cases, ranging from a 20-year-old double homicide in Clay County to an arson and burglary in Martin County. He says working in other counties has been very beneficial.

"I have had the opportunity to see how many other judges run their court. Every county and every judge does things a little differently. It has been a privilege for me to work with some very fine judges and I plan to copy many of the good things and processes they use in their courts," said Powell.

Powell says his years of experience will allow him to process work faster and more efficiently than a judge without experience.

His promises to voters include keeping costs down and asking senior retired judges to assist in expediting proceedings; giving priority to cases when children are involved; establishing a night court for small claims cases; and working with county and local officials and attorneys to simplify and implement cost effective proceedings to enforce local ordinances because he says the current process is broken and in need of attention.

Powell says he will run a fair Court that is open and responsive to the needs of the community and he will not discriminate against anyone because of their economic status, faith, ethnic background or political affiliation. He also adds he will show up every day and work hard.

"I am tested and proven. The citizens know what to expect from me. They have watched me successfully manage people, costs and an extraordinary criminal caseload for the past 20 years. I have been recognized locally and statewide for excellent service to the public. Practices that I initiated at the Prosecutor's Office have been copied and used successfully throughout the state by other prosecutors. I have always tried to help and mentor the people who have worked with me, including two of my opponents. I never asked anyone to do anything except their best work for the community. If I am elected Judge, I will do my very best to be selfless and always put the community and the people who depend on me first," said Powell.

For more information, visit Powell's campaign Web site by clicking on his ad on the Greene County Daily World Web site at www.gcdailyworld.com