Courtesy John McGauley
Allen Superior Court Judge Charles Pratt talks with two of more than 30 children united with “forever families” at an Adoption Day event in 2019.
Pratt
Courtesy John McGauley
Sunday, May 16, 2021 1:00 am
Putting families first
MATTHEW LEBLANC | The Journal Gazette
It s mid-afternoon on a recent Thursday, and Judge Charles Pratt is taking a break to chat.
He has been in cleanup mode – ridding his second-floor office at the Allen County Courthouse of case law printed long ago and stacked on a table toward the back of the room; emptying filing cabinets; preparing to write the final orders of a legal career that s spanned four decades.
Judge Pratt announces May retirement
The Journal Gazette
Allen Superior Judge Charles F. Pratt announced Monday he ll retire May 1 after more than 22 years on the bench of the court s Family Relations Division.
Pratt has been part of the Allen County judiciary for more than 40 years. He was a law clerk in 1979 and 1980 and was first elected judge in 1998, taking office in 1999. He was re-elected in 2004, 2010 and 2016.
From 1985 until he became a judge, Pratt was a magistrate in the Family Relations Division. Before that, he was a judicial referee in Superior Court s Civil Division.
As a judge, Pratt has presided mainly over family relations, adoption and children in need of services (CHINS) cases. He has handled more than 200 adoptions each year and organized an annual Adoption Day for nearly 15 years.
Judge Pratt announces retirement
Journal Gazette
Allen Superior Court Judge Charles F. Pratt announced Monday he ll retire May 1 after more than 22 years on the bench of the court s Family Relations Division.
Pratt has been part of the Allen County judiciary more than 40 years. He was a law clerk from 1979-1980 and was elected judge in 1998, taking office in 1999. He was reelected in 2004, 2010 and 2016.
From 1985 until he became a judge, Pratt was a magistrate in the Family Relations Division. Before that, he was a judicial referee in Superior Court s Civil Division.
As a judge, Pratt has presided mainly over family relations, adoption and children in need of services cases. He has handled more than 200 adoptions each year and organized an annual Adoption Day for almost 15 years.