UNIONTOWN – Four months later Judge Franklin Wayne Cordery is still upholding the promise he made to the city of Uniontown to rule in such a way that upholds the law and preserves the self-respect of those who come before the court.

“I try to do my job like I know it’s supposed to be done,” the Uniontown Municipal Court judge said. “I do it with honesty and integrity.”

Cordery said he believes every town needs to have its own court because it will benefit both the citizens and complete the three branches of government.

“This is something I believe just needs to happened. If you have a town of any size it needs to have its own court,” he said. “A town needs all three branches of government.”

Although Cordery lives in Prattville and has another office in Clanton, he was willing to work hard to establish the court in Uniontown and set up another office in the Perry County city.

“The mayor asked me to establish the court system so I did,” he said. “I had to jump through a lot of hoops to start, but I learned a lot during the process.”

According to Cordery many city ordinances have to be written, sent to the state and passed before the court could call its first session.

“I think we had to send paperwork to about thirty different places,” he said. “But this was important for the city.”

Cordery said other cities need to think about establishing a municipal court if they don’t already have one because “they need it.”

Although he isn’t sure of the exact number of cases the fairly new court has seen, Cordery knows he’s been busy in Uniontown.

“In the beginning everything was coming back to us from the district courts,” he said. “But there have been a lot of cases in the past two months.”

So, when faced with a criminal misdemeanor or traffic crime, expect to meet Judge Cordery face to face, but don’t fret. He will be sure to treat all defendants in a fair and just manner.