Kubit joins bench
Joe Kubit expects to be busy when he takes the seat behind the bench Wednesday for the first time as a Butler County Common Pleas Court judge.
Kubit, 59, of Cabot was sworn in to office Monday to begin a 10-year term on the bench.
U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Horan, a former county Common Pleas Court judge, administered the oath of office.
“I've been told that I'll be busy, and that's fine with me,” Kubit said, in a recent interview. “I'm used to working long hours in the practice of law.”
Kubit will serve in the family court division, joining Judge William Robinson Jr.He said he has spent time observing court proceedings before Robinson and Judge Kelly Streib, whom he will replace in the family division, and talking to them to help him prepare for his new job. His first case is scheduled Wednesday.A partner in the Butler law firm Montgomery, Crissman, Kubit since 1998, Kubit said becoming a judge wasn't part of his career plan, but he decided to run in last year's election after being encouraged by judges, other attorneys and his family.Those who encouraged him to run for office “told me I'd be a good judge,” he said. After his wife, Susan, gave her blessing, he decided to enter the election.
A judge's position became open in the election after Judge Thomas Doerr decided not to seek a fourth term in office.“I never recall aspiring as a young lawyer to be a judge. It wasn't something I set out to do,” Kubit said. “However, for a number of years, clients, friends, attorneys and judges have encouraged me to consider doing so.”He grew up in a home on Dinnerbell Road and spent his spare time working on cars and motorcycles. His father ran a small trucking company.“I come from humble stock. A solid work ethic is something that was instilled in me when I was a kid. I'm very grateful for that,” Kubit said.
Around age 11, Kubit and his family were in a car accident that left his parents and one of his sisters dead. His grandparents, the late Joseph and Sophie Kubit, became his guardians and raised him.Both his parents and grandparents taught him to value hard work, he said when running for election.He attended Holy Sepulcher School in Glade Mills and proceeded to graduate from Knoch High School in 1981.He went on to the University of Pittsburgh, where he graduated with a bachelor of science degree in 1987, and a jurist doctor in 1990.Kubit then worked as a law clerk for the late state Superior Court Judge Zoran Popovich.That experience and learning the trade from other county lawyers helped him in his career.“Because I had the privilege of serving as a law clerk to the late Judge Zoran Popovich of the Pennsylvania Superior Court, I know what judges are supposed to do. I am grateful to be able to say that I also know what a lawyer is supposed to do in a courtroom. I learned trial skills from some of the most skillful, respected, ethically sound trial lawyers in Butler County,” Kubit said.“I'm grateful that Butler County residents trusted me to help them with their legal needs and allowed me to make a good living for me and my family. I look forward to serving the citizens of Butler County as their judge.”
During his career, he said he has represented plaintiffs and defendants in lawsuits and criminal, civil, divorce and child custody cases, tried cases before judges and juries in Butler and 10 other counties in the state, and represented clients in appeals before the state Superior and Supreme courts.He has served as a hearing officer in mental health and student discipline hearings, a master in divorce cases, a civil mediator and an arbitrator in civil disputes.Being a husband and father to daughter, Julie, has provided him with life experience that, he said, will help him.“I believe being a judge is a matter of public trust. It is also a big responsibility,” Kubit said.By law, becoming a judge requires him to resign from the law firm. He said he will continue serving on the Butler County Community College board of trustees as board chairman.His chambers will be on the fourth floor of the Butler County Government Center, and he will hear cases in whichever courtroom is available.An assistant from the law firm will be his assistant. A law clerk also will be on his staff.
