20 years: Friends honor Judge Leete

Friends of Potter County Judge John B. Leete pulled one over on him Tuesday.

Well-wishers summoned him to the courtroom for an unexpected obligation, which ended up being a surprise party to recognize his achieving a milestone: 20 years on the bench.

He'll enter the final year of his latest 10-year term in 2009. Although Leete is officially undecided about running again next year - and he would only be able to serve a portion of the term, due to mandatory retirement - political observers say potential successors are already lining up and Leete is expected to retire.

Politics took a back seat to celebration on Tuesday, however.

About 100 people attended the 20-year anniversary celebration, greeted personally by Judge Leete and his wife, Georgianna. The Leetes have three grown children: Anne, Elizabeth and William.

A Coudersport native, John Leete was an outstanding high school scholar who went on to earn his law degree. He served for a time as a legal services advocate in Pittsburgh, then relocated to Potter County to open a private law practice.

Leete was joined by another Coudersport native, Daniel F. Glassmire V, to form the Leete & Glassmire law firm. He was chosen by an appointed trial court nominating commission and appointed by the governor in February 1988 to succeed Harold B. Fink as judge.

He has since succeeded by an overwhelming margin in two countywide retention elections.

Judge Leete is respected across the state as a fair and consistent jurist. He has taken a particular interest in the youth of Potter County, through his hands-on involvement with the Project Yellow Ribbon suicide prevention program, the foreign exchange student initiative of Rotary International, and other activities.