Local attorney, Robert A. Haedge, will soon take the bench as Lockhart’s new Municipal Court Judge. In its September 20 Council meeting, City Council appointed Haedge to preside over cases ranging from traffic violations, Class C misdemeanors filed by the Lockhart Police Department, code enforcement violations, animal control violations, and Class C violations from Lockhart ISD, including truant conduct and parents contributing to non-attendance.

Haedge resides in Dale and has been practicing law for eleven years. He earned his law degree from the South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas. Throughout his legal career, he litigated criminal and civil cases in state and federal court.

“I'm very pleased Mr. Robert Haedge agreed to be our next Municipal Judge,” said Mayor Lew White. “We feel that Mr. Haedge, as Judge, will be fair, reasonable, and compassionate in his dealings with the citizens of Lockhart.”

Haedge spent most of his life in Texas. He grew up in South Austin, went to high school in Dripping Springs, earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Texas in Austin, and, after graduating law school in 2010, he spent a couple of years working in one Houston-area law firm before making his way back to Central Texas. Since his move to Dale, in addition to his private law practice, he represented indigent clients in Guadalupe, Gonzales, Hays, and Caldwell counties as a court-appointed attorney.

"I am grateful for this opportunity to serve my community by helping to ensure the public has access to justice and receives it in an efficient and timely manner," said Haedge.

Haedge will succeed Darlon Sojak, who served as Lockhart’s Municipal Court Judge since 2020.