Slog - Comments on Beware lazy judges http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/beware_lazy_judges Of the 21 King County District Court judges up for reelection this year, only one was forced to run against an opponent (actually, there were two challengers). Now a group of criminal defense attorneys has launched a political action committee to raise funds to support candidates willing to challenge sitting judges. Attorney William Kirk, a member of the PAC, says it's about work quality and accountability. Kirk said: "The level of competence [on the bench] has depreciated and having qualified opponents run against incumbent judges or open seats would only serve to elevate the quality of the district court bench."... Copyright 2008 Thu, 07 Dec 2006 14:24:59 -0800 Thu, 07 Dec 2006 16:51:33 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by John I'm all for having a fine judiciary, but I'm not sure elections are the way to go about this. Since judges won't or can't debate on the issues, they don't really have anything to campaign on. It's hard to campaign for the fact that you're impartial and well versed in the law. The public is too easily swayed by big money special interest groups. I don't have a better suggestion, but I don't think the current system, even with competitive elections, works.

]]> John http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/beware_lazy_judges#c552374 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/beware_lazy_judges#c552374 News Thu, 07 Dec 2006 15:24:26 -0800 Comment by Joe R Especially when the new PAC in question is the tool of DUI defense lawyers.

]]> Joe R http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/beware_lazy_judges#c552385 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/beware_lazy_judges#c552385 News Thu, 07 Dec 2006 15:54:25 -0800 Comment by him Kirk used to be a DA, but worked at the same court where the only sitting District Court judge got beat out by both challengers (after she got reprimanded for ethics violations). Perhaps it's his desire to see DUI-friendly judges, but it could also be emotional trauma from working with that judge that compels him to work on this new PAC.
Either way, PACs and judicial elections are a bad mix.

]]> him http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/beware_lazy_judges#c552589 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/beware_lazy_judges#c552589 News Thu, 07 Dec 2006 16:51:33 -0800