A good lawyer knows the law, but a great lawyer knows the judge.
- Thread starter lionlurker
- Start date
From the article:
"Judges and attorneys associations acknowledge donations are part of the system. They say contributions don't affect impartiality."
Oh, well all righty then! They had me worried there for a minute.
"Judges and attorneys associations acknowledge donations are part of the system. They say contributions don't affect impartiality."
Oh, well all righty then! They had me worried there for a minute.
Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey and Superior Court Judge Judy Olson have not received donations from attorneys.
Judge Covey has my vote all the way.
I've been an attorney for a long time running my own practice. During every election cycle where we have a judge position open in our county I get inundated with mailers, telephone calls, Face Book posts and private message, invitations, etc .... to attend fundraising events or to outright contribute to a campaign. I have steadfastly refused to contribute, partially because I'm cheap, but also because I am not a fan of the way the system works. I don't think a judicial position should be filled by a popularity contest influenced by who can raise the most money. I also don't think judicial positions should be filled by judicial candidates running their campaign on their position on social issues (i.e. stances on abortion, the death penalty, etc). Judges are not suppose to make they law. They are to interpret the law and follow the law as it is created by our legislature. The unfortunate thing is that I do believe there are far too many instances where favortism and partiality occurs as a result of the current system. It worries me that it might affect a case I'm involved with but I simply can't support the current system. In a way it is similar to getting "homed" as an attorney. There are certain counties, which practicing attorneys quickly recognize, in which out-of-county attorneys are treated differently than in-county attorneys. Fair to the client (the customer of the court)? I think not, but it exists all the same.
