In a recent letter to the editor, Northampton County's former Fiscal Director Charles L "Pete" Houck asks readers to check the "money trail" in Attorney Jay Leeson's contributions to Senator Bob Casey. His point apparently is that Leeson has bought his nomination to the federal bench. He adds that Leeson is unqualified because he's never been a judge.
I checked.
Between 2006 and the present, Leeson has made a grand total of 12 donations to Senator Casey, totaling $12,000. That's $1,500 a year. No U.S. Senator is going to sell a judicial nomination for that paltry sum. Even a lowly member of the House of Representatives must raise $2 million every election cycle.
NIZ twins Joe Topper and JB Reilly gave a combined $50,000 to NorCo Executive John Brown's race, where far less money is needed. That's how you buy someone.
Houck's other point is sheer nonsense. Federal judges are selected from both the bench and bar. Wearing a black robe is no prerequisite.
Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
Local Government TV
▼
Sunday, July 20, 2014
9 comments:
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.
They all buy their promotions. Based on his not-even-lukewarm endorsement by the bar, he's an extreme example of the unqualified doing this. Nothing to see. He's not the first and won't be the last.
ReplyDeleteAlmost all these Judges have political connections. The Leeson family goes back to their father being friends with Bob Casey Senior. They don't have to buy a judgeship and Jay Leeson is respected by his peers.
ReplyDeleteHow about all these other political whores who weren't Qualified for a judgeship but got one anyway because of their political affiliation and money donated to a party or a candidate.
Do away with lifetime appointments. These so called judges that are nothing more than political hacks serve their parties not the people. They even cast their ballots along political lines (I.E, The Supreme Court). They don't serve our Constitution. They owe their asses to the Political party that got them appointed. They are no different than most of our congressmen.
On quite a few occasions, at his home, Leeson had $500 and $1,000 per person fund raisers for Casey. They were all well attended including Bob Casey himself.
ReplyDeleteBernie since you weren't invited and didn't attend these you wouldn't know.
Glad I wasn't invited. I can't afford it.
ReplyDeleteThe bar's rating indicates he's a lousy choice, regardless of whom was paid.
ReplyDeleteFunny, you seem to imply lots of quid pro quo in the past going on for far less. I suppose it's not convenient in this circumstance. Consistency, dude, you lack it.
ReplyDelete1) I have always looked at contributions compared to the total spent in a race. In a county race, a $12,500 contribution is very significant. In a U.S. Senate race, $1,500 per year is almost unnoticeable.
ReplyDelete2) It appears that Casey and Leeson have a relationship going back a long way. They are both fairly conservative Dems. My guess is this similarity has more to do with Casey's nomination than the money spent.
3) I don't understand the bar endorsement. I really don't. Leeson is an excellent attorney. He comes from the same cadre of lawyers that include Morganelli, Panella and Phil Hof. He has distinguished himself in the law and his temperament is better than most jurists. I question whether there is a bias against people who aren't judges or Philly lawyers.
4. This letter by Pete Houck is troubling, not because of what it says, but because he wrote it. He has no knowledge of lawyers and hasn't been associated with NC for decades.
Houck has always been a hot head. he decided s he hates someone and goes bizzerk. he was like that his years at the county and still is that way. he is good with numbers but not with people.
ReplyDeleteWell done. You have preserved the bogus accusation for all time for anyone doing a google search.
ReplyDelete