A reader writes in:"You may want to at some time remind voters about one way to check out how judges are evaluated by several legal sources. For those of us who do not work in the profession and do not often appear in front of them, we have no idea who is doing a good job. But I for one want to make sure I use my vote to pick only the judges who are viewed to be doing a good job by those that do work with them."
VOTEFORJUDGES.ORG is one place you can check up on who will appear on the November 2nd ballot."
Here is where to go:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.chicagobar.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Judicial_Evaluation_Committee&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=5697
This post illustrates beautifully the absurdity of electing judges. "Judging" the law is a technical skill. It shouldn't be susceptible to the whims of a population the vast majority of which has no direct knowledge/experience of the court.
ReplyDeleteWhen it come to a yes or no vote for a judge it looks pretty hard to me. I never even heard of any of them and I wonder if many others have either. I can look at all the evalucations and endorsements all day and still I am not satisfied. I have not found anyone I know that could name a judge and tell me why they would want a yes or no vote in the first place. I have a few friends that when it comes to judges they just vote the opposite if what the newspaper endorsements are printed. I bet many others do the same.
ReplyDeleteThe links provided are very useful to inform yourself whether the judges have a record of acting rationally and to the letter of the law.
ReplyDeleteI never understood why uninformed voters struggle to select all the judges. If you don't know anything about them, DON'T VOTE for these offices! Nothing is worse than an uninformed vote. How else are people voting for these, anti-incumbent, pro-incumbent, or worse yet, by the last names?
The Chicago Bar Association is a good reference as is the Chicago Council of Lawyers, which is the one I use. www.chicagocouncil.org
ReplyDeleteFor the future , here are two names to remember. Judge Wolfson and Judge Lubin are the two juvenile court judges who hear the majority of cases coming out of Uptown, and they are both outstanding.If you ever see their names on a ballot definitely vote yes.A strong endorsement from a juvenile probation officer who has been in front of them for years.
ReplyDeleteIf we're to take the word of lawyers to vote for one of their own...what's the point of having an election?
ReplyDeleteAs a court advocate, I've been to cases involving Judge Stanley Sacks and Judge Kirby, and they're both old school guys who appear to be no-nonsense and tough sentencers. If I see either name on the ballot, I'm voting YES for them.
ReplyDelete@Bradley--your question is an especially good one given what's happening in the Kilbride retention battle. This IL Supreme Court judge has no opponent--it is a retention vote--yet he is being targeted by special interests who are displeased with his rulings. The amount of money flooding into anti-Kilbride campaigning is mind-boggling.
ReplyDeleteI would vote to retain Kilbride. I doubt if those ads tell the whole story.
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