When he heard the state’s judicial disciplinary agency was looking for a new executive director, Superior Court Judge Ronnie Joe Lane of the Pataula Circuit immediately tossed his hat in the ring.

“My main concern was that, when I was a young lawyer, I had some judges who were tyrants. I don’t want to go back to us letting that happen again,” said Lane, who will become the first judge to take the helm of the state Judicial Qualifications Commission in its 42-year history.