Former Judge Honored

A former Muskingum County Common Pleas judge is honored today in a big way.

The former JC Penny’s building in downtown Zanesville is now named the Richard D. Hixson Court and Government Services Building.

 Muskingum County Common Pleas Court Judge Mark Fleegle says Hixson is a great mentor.

"He had a purpose he felt, on the bench, which was to instruct new and young attorneys how to conduct themselves, how to present their case," he said. "How to act very politely and courteously with each other and everyone else involved in the system."

Fleegle says Hixson was crucial in building parts of the local justice system.

"What he did as far as building the probation department and the system, establishing the domestic court," said  Fleegle. "Everything he did he was promoting things for the future of the justice system in this county."

Hixson sat for 30 years on the bench as the head of the Common Pleas Court until his retirement in 1999. Hixson served as an attorney before his election to the bench.

Hixson and his wife continue to live in Muskingum County.