The current sitting U.S. Federal Magistrate Judge, in Alpine, Texas, is a Jehovah's Witness and is set to retire on November 9, 2015.
Federal magistrate to retire
In conversation with the Honorable B. Dwight Goains
By SASHA von OLDERSHAUSEN
On November 9, the Honorable B. Dwight Goains will retire from an eight-year term serving as the U.S. Magistrate Judge in Alpine, Texas. At 66 years old, Goains has nearly 30 years of experience working within the U.S. legal system – first as a criminal defense attorney, then as a federal prosecutor, and finally in his current position as Magistrate Judge. The Big Bend Sentinel/The International sat down with the judge to discuss his career, his thoughts on the U.S. court system and his plans for retirement. See the interview below...
What are your plans for retirement?
My wife and I are both Jehovah’s Witnesses so we put a lot into our Kingdom Halls and have always promised Jehovah God that the day I’m eligible to retire, I’m going to retire. We’re both going to be full-time pioneers. We’ll be knocking on doors, starting bible studies, teaching people what the bible really teaches.
Has your line of work ever been at odds with your religious beliefs?
They don’t because one of the big things about the bible is that is says you pay Caesar’s things back to Caesar and God’s things back to God. Jehovah’s Witnesses obey the law, they pay their taxes, they respect the government, and they follow the laws of the government. If it’s against the law to run a red light, you don’t run a red light.
"Jehovah's Witnesses obey the law." - U.S. Federal Magistrate Judge B. Dwight Goains, a Jehovah's Witness