This week’s blog discussion isn’t focused on seniors or people with special needs.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 8, and in many places (including Ohio) early voting is already available.
I urge you to seek out and consider the bar association rankings of judicial candidates when you vote.
Some bar associations meet with judicial candidates to try to predict fairness as a judge (often called “judicial temperament.) This is NOT a test on issues or ideology. It is a judgment of a willingness to listen to both sides and an ability to make tough, sometimes uncomfortable, decisions. These rankings have nothing to do with Democrat or Republican or third party or Independent affiliations.
The possible rankings are:
Highly Recommended (highest ranking)
Recommended
Acceptable, and
Not recommended (lowest ranking)
Or
Excellent (highest ranking)
Good
Acceptable, and
Not recommended (lowest ranking.)
The reviews may not express a preference between candidates. Sometimes two or more candidates for the same judgeship will have identical rankings. (Unfortunately, that occasionally means that only “not recommended” candidates are available for a particular judgeship.)
For my friends in northeast Ohio (where I live,) you can find bar association rankings at:
Ohio Supreme Court: https://www.ohiobar.org/ForPublic/PressRoom/Pages/OSBA-announces-Supreme-Court-of-Ohio-candidate-ratings-for-the-2016-Election.aspx (by the Ohio State Bar Association)
Ohio Supreme Court and local courts in Cuyahoga County: https://youbethejudgesummitcounty.com/ (by 4 bar associations and two newspapers)
Ohio 9th District Court of Appeals and local courts in Summit County: http://youbethejudgesummitcounty.com/ (by the Akron Bar Association)
I was not able to find bar association ratings for other counties. Sorry.
I urge you to consider these ratings when you vote. If you live somewhere other than the counties I’ve listed above, I urge you to see if your local bar association has made ratings available for your judicial candidates.
Then, please get out, and vote.