[Mpls] Other judicial races

[Greg Abbott]

For what it's worth, I'll share my thinking about the Hennepin County judicial races. Even for a practicing attorney, the absence of any real information on these races is startling.



Judge Lloyd Zimmerman v. Julie Delgado-O'Neil --- Zimmerman.

See my previous post - Judge Zimmerman is outstanding. I agree with Dee Long, Delgado-O'Neil filed to run for the wrong judicial seat.



Judge Thomas Wexler v. Jill Clark ---- Jill Clark.

Caveat - Jill Clark is a friend of mine, she used to be chair of the state bar's Internet Law Committee. She is smart, and tough, and thorough.

Jill's challenge to Judge Wexler arises out of an incident that occurred when she was representing a female Ethiopian immigrant against a criminal charge of "disturbing the peace by words" in front of Judge Wexler. The words uttered by the woman used to support the criminal charge were "You're just arresting me because I'm black." Jill Clark, very naturally in my opinion, moved to dismiss the charges on First Amendment grounds. Judge Wexler called counsel back into his chamber to discuss Jill's motion off the record, and said something to the effect that if he took her motion seriously "these people" would clog up the courts forever. As related to me, it was not clear whether Judge Wexler was referring to criminal defendants generally, or to immigrants, or to the defendant's race. To be fair, I believe there is a genuine factual dispute about the precise words and context of this conference in chambers.

Jill Clark believed that Judge Wexler's comments were inappropriate and discriminatory, and filed ethics complaint both with the Chief Judge of Hennepin County and the committee appointed by the Supreme Court to deal with judicial ethics. I don't know what the results of those complaints were - but as a rule complaints against judges are rarely result in a meaningful public outcome.

I do not believe even for a second that Judge Wexler had a discriminatory motive. In my opinion, Judge Wexler's comment reflected the opinion of a judge with a full criminal docket who didn't want to take the time to consider a constitutional argument.

Increasingly judges view their role not as decision-makers, but as docket managers. Internally, judges are graded on how many cases they are able to dispose of in a quick fashion. Judges often decide that cases merit more time and attention based on the seriousness of the criminal charges, and on the civil side, how much money is at stake. This attitude, I think, has a terrible effect on poor people. In practice, a poor person charged with a misdemeanor or a low felony stands little chance of having their legal or factual defenses properly considered.

Now if every case were treated like a federal case, state courts would grind to a halt. In some respects Judge Wexler's comment, sadly, is an accurate reflection of the facts.

I see Judge Wexler as an able, accomplished judge who has chosen for practical reasons to operate within the indignities and unfairness of the criminal justice system. I suspect he manages his docket well, and handles his civil cases appropriately. But I'd rather have a judge who strives to give defendants get a fair shake in small cases, even if that goal is a bit unrealistic.

I'd also rather have a judge who listens to a free speech defense when the defendant is charged with disturbing the peace "with words."

Jill Clark also has a history of successfully representing victims who have been injured by the Minneapolis police. When I ran for City Council last year, Jill and I talked at length (I should say, Jill talked at length) about the policies and procedures which the Minneapolis police use which, in her judgment, lend themselves to a consistent problems with physical altercations. Regardless of the outcome of the election, I would recommend that the Mayor and City Council sit down with Jill and explore her suggestions.



Judge Harry Crump v. Kevin Kolosky --- Judge Crump

I don't have a lot of information on this race. I have friends who've appeared before Judge Crump and describe him as an able judge.

Judge Crump does deserve a lot of credit for his rulings in the Twins case - and not because of the outcome. I'll spare you the details, but Judge Crump's reasoning behind his decision -- about the nature of the consideration involved in the Twins lease -- was right on point.



Judge Steven Aldrich v. Judd Edward Gushwa --- Judge Aldrich

Steve Aldrich is an excellent judge, who has a great deal of expertise in family cases. Family law is one of those areas where we need expert judges. Judge Aldrich is definitely not one of those judges who merely manages his docket.

Steve Aldrich was also a good friend of Rich Rose, who managed my City Council campaign last year and died earlier this year. Rich Rose managed Judge Aldrich's first judicial campaign, which was a tough race against an excellent opponent. IIRC, Judge Aldrich spoke at Rich's memorial service.



Judge Tanya Bransford v. Joseph "Pat" McCormick --- Judge Bransford

I don't have a lot of information on this race. I have friends who've appeared before Judge Bransford who describe her as an able judge.



Judge Herbert Lefler v. Liz Pierce --- Judge Lefler

This is a tough one. I've never appeared before Judge Lefler, and I don't know Liz Pierce. From what I hear, Judge Lefler is well-liked by both attorneys and court staff -- (which is a significant criteria for me - IMHO one of the truest tests of character for an elected official is how they treat the people who work under them). I have some friends who know Liz Pierce and speak very highly of her.

Absent any reason to reject the incumbent, I'll vote for Lefler -- but would encourage Liz Pierce to either run again or seek appointment by the governor.



Judge James Swenson v. Robert D. Schwartz --- Judge Swenson

Judge Swenson has a decent reputation among attorneys I know. Other than that, I have very little info on the race.



At any rate, that's what I'm doing in the judicial elections on Nov. 5th.

Greg Abbott




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Sent from the computer of:

Greg Abbott [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Linden Hills
13th Ward (612) 925-0630

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