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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Friday, February 19, 2016

Judge Tidd Reverses Himself, To Remain On Bench

They say a judge is never really a judge until he's reversed himself at least once. David Tidd can now say he's a judge. He's reversed his decision to resign as magisterial District Judge in Hellertown and lower Saucon Township, thanks to an outpouring of support from the community.

Last Friday, Tidd announced he was resigning his position as Magisterial District Judge, effective March 1.I knew he had gone through a particularly vicious campaign. I knew that he had been ill, and had lost income. But I was unaware that he had grown so disenchanted until I spoke with him.

It bothers him that he has to pick winners and losers. I never thought about it because I'm a prick. But I suppose it's troublesome to good-hearted people who know their rulings are going to make some people unhappy. On top of that, mini-judges, as I like to call them, are the Rodney Dangerfields of our judicial system. They may wear the black robe, but only rarely get the respect they deserve. In many cases, it is the magisterial district judge, sitting on the front lines, that keeps our system from erupting into chaos.

I often think of John Gombosi on Bethlehem;s south side, who approached his duties with common sense, humility and humor. He kept the South Side of Bethlehem from breaking out into riots.

The same is true in Nazareth with Elmo Frey, a great judge who had all the Gombosi qualities. He could still be sitting on the bench, but the truancies got to him. He could not understand why no one from Children and Youth was coming to the hearings. He invited me to come for an afternoon of hearings in the slate belt, so I could see things for myself. I'm ashamed to say I forgot.

But this is precisely the kind of person who needs to be on the bench. A person with both knowledge and compassion. Fortunately, Tidd received a large number of phone calls from constituents and his colleagues asking him to reconsider.

Below is his statement.
I recently announced that I was going to be resigning my position of Magisterial District Judge. I was fortunate enough to have been re-elected last year and began my second term in January of this year.

My decision to resign was based upon purely personal issues. When my intended resignation was announced, I am gratified to say that I received an upwelling of support from my constituency as well as professional colleagues, all of whom urged me to reconsider my decision.

I have done so. I have rescinded my resignation and intend to continue with my duties. Upon reflection, and especially upon consideration of the comments of my professional colleagues, I believe I have an obligation to the citizens who elected me to honor their wishes and their votes, put aside my personal issues, and continue my public duty.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good for you!!!!

Anonymous said...

Good decision, and I wish him much success.

I am a Lower Saucon resident, but never met the man. No matter, he's obviously been a PRODUCTIVE citizen who is reported to have faced difficult times. No doubt, his mind is heavy trying to determine his best course through a turbulent period. The pressure is on, and good people eventually make it through. He will.

Fred Windish

Anonymous said...

If I'm ever in front of him in a court of law, I'd have to question his mental status, can't make up his mind, not seeing things clearly!

Anonymous said...

The guy doesn't work a full week he is never in his office the residents of PA get screwed again!

Bernie O'Hare said...

10:13, i question the mental status of people who anonymously attack others.

Anonymous said...

Anon's simply pass on the news / situation anonymous ly...

Anonymous said...

Gary W. Gorman chimes in...

I live in Lower Saucon and before that, Hellertown. We have a wonderful, dedicated Magistrate who works hard for all of us. Judge Tidd is a Republican, I am a far left Democrat; even a green party teetotaler, if you will.

I have supported The Honorable Tidd from the get-go for many reasons...and I've never met him and have only have had a brief email correspondence with him in his last election. But, I write these words, because I have many friends and contemporaries who know him, trust him and support him. I keep my ear to the ground and ask my network specific questions about him, his judgment and integrity. From everything that I heard, he represents our district well.

Meanwhile, a few years ago, Allentown had (now disgraced) Democrat Magistrate Merlo who was/is aligned with Republican Northamptopn County Executive John Brown and former Republican Lehigh County Executive Jane Baker and her tenure on the bench was questionable from the beginning. And, I knew her up close and personal as she was a Guardian-ad-litem and an LCOCYS solicitor for foster children. For people knocking David Tidd...get real. It could be worse...a lot worse.

Anonymous said...

Wait for the truth, it will come out.

Bernie O'Hare said...

The truth has come out. You are an anonymous coward. When Tidd originally resigned, the trolls were claiming it was a deal to avoid unspecified criminal and ethics charges. Well, now that he has rescinded that resignation, and i'm glad he did, we can all see you are full of shit. And you know you are full of shot or you would ID yourself.

Incidentally, I have advised Constable Whittington that he is being impersonated on LVLin earlier stories. I hope he takes action against you cowards.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Gary Gorman, I am no John Brown fan, but it is completely unfair of you to associate him in any way with former Judge Merlo. There is absolutely no connection. It is true that Merlo's significant other works for Northampton County, but that is the only connection to Merlo. Merlo had been removed from the bench before this employee was hired. Neither that employee nor NorCo had any connection to any of the things leading to Merlo's dismissal. Nor would it be right for NorCo to hold Merlo's shortcomings against her significant other. In this country, we don't kill everyone in the family bc one person errs. If you like that kind of system, join ISIS. You are growing wackier by the day, but the way, and should consider seeing someone.

Anonymous said...
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Bernie O'Hare said...

I have deleted your comment, which essentially identifies this employee. This worker's personal life is off limits.

Anonymous said...
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