Judicial Class Acts in Northampton County

I'm a miserable bastard. I've read somewhere that you should refrain from blogging whenever you're sick, tired or angry. If I followed that advice, this would be a blank blog. I'm usually all three simultaneously, and right now is no exception. But I've noticed that even when I'm in the best of moods, I still manage to piss everyone off.

It's a gift.

Most of you already know this, so why the hell am I bringing it up? To make a point. I'd be a lousy judge. I'd even be a lousy mini-judge. I'd probably leap across the dais and grab one of the lawyers or litigants by the throat about five minutes into any proceeding, just out of general principle. But there are some people who are perfectly suited for the bench. Let me give you an example.

John Morganelli, after a very tough and bitter campaign, was first reelected DA about a thousand years ago. After the vote tally was in and it was clear he had won, he was celebrating his victory with some of his supporters, hoisting a few. In the midst of this jubilation, a lone figure walked into the saloon, approached John, and extended his hand. That person was Emil Giordano, John's opponent in that race. He could have just picked up a phone, but instead sought John out and personally thanked him. "I never forgot that," John tells me years later.

Giordano is a class act. I'd like to think voters noticed that and that is why they elected him judge not many years later.

This year, voters will be deciding three judgeships in Northampton County. What makes this race especially difficult is that nearly everyone running is a class act. Lenny Zito has established that on the bench, where he has impressed everyone, including his harshest critics. Sam Murray, a hard-working and unassuming custody master, would carry little slips of paper with words like "compassion" inscribed, to remind him of judicial qualities. Craig Dally has devoted his adult life to improving his community, whether as an attorney or state legislator. I graduated from law school with Karl Longenbach and Barb Hollenbach, and would readily trust my life to either one of them. I do not personally know Candy Barr Heimbach, but know she has distinguished herself in the complicated field of medical malpractice.

I would rule out Jim Narlesky, who tried to play footsie with both Republicans and Democrats, to the point where some Republican are convinced he lied to them. His taste in political consultants is questionable, too. I'd also rule out Michael Koury, who is running for judge and magistrate simultaneously and has a history of negative campaigns. These two are both excellent attorneys and I may be a bit harsh in ruling them out, but we can afford to be picky.

That still leaves six candidates for three vacancies, each of them class acts. I would be happy to see all six elected, if that were possible.