Who Do You Like in the Lehigh County Judge Race?

Six candidates are on a holy quest for the black robe. They seek three seats on Lehigh County's Court of Common Pleas that will open up this year. Democrats Zach Cohen, Rashid Santiago and Maraleen Shields and Republicans Tom Caffrey, Tom Capehart and Dave Ritter are the candidates. 

The courts of common pleas are the trial courts, both civil and criminal, in Pennsylvania. Judges are elected for 10-year terms. The salary this year is $188,292, and it automatically goes up each year with the consumer price index. When a judge's 10-year term is up, he or she can just stand for retention. 

The candidates were all rated by the Lehigh County Bar Ass'n. Cohen, Shields, Caffrey and Capehart are all "highly recommended." Ritter got a "recommended" while Santiago was tagged with a "not recommended," basically because he failed to submit a sample of his legal writing for the bluebloods to scrutinize.  

His dog ate it. 

Fortunately, the aristocrats do not decide on who should sit on the bench. They'd love to take that burden from you and appoint their favorites. But fortunately, the people still elect judges.  

I live in NorCo and have no say. But if the bluebloods can tell you who they like, so can a black Irishman. 

Here are my three choices:

1) Maraleen Shields. - Not 'cuz she's black. Not 'cuz she's a woman. Not 'cuz she's bilingual. Not 'cuz she - like me- is a highly conditioned, well-trained athlete Because she's the leader of the pack. She stands head and shoulders above the other lawyers running in terms of raw ability. She's a shareholder at Fitzpatrick, Lentz and Bubba, one of the most elite law firms in the Lehigh Valley,. She double-majored in college, attended law school on a full scholarship,where she was a member of the Law Review. You only get that if you know what you're doing. She graduated magna cum laude.

Even more compelling than her professional and educational prowess is her personal background. He father died when she was in fourth grade,and she and her sister were raised by her mother in a small town outside of Pittsburgh. She came up hard. Instead of relying on handouts, she worked her way through college and emerged with a double major and no student debt. 

She might be the best judicial candidate I've ever seen. 

2) Tom Caffrey, Like Maraleen, Tom comes from a blue collar background in Allentown's first ward. His dad worked at General Electric while his mom was a seamstress. On Sundays, he attended Immaculate Conception Church. He still does. He graduated from Allentown Central Catholic, and after college at PSU and law school at Dickinson, he returned to the Lehigh Valley  and has been practicing law for 36 years. 

Unlike most lawyers, Caffrey has experience on both the civil and criminal side of the ledger. He is also an experienced municipal lawyer, and has served as Lehigh County Solicitor since May 2020. 

3)  Zac Cohen. - Like Caffrey, Zac is Allentown born and raised. Like Maraleen, he was a double major when he attended college. He's practiced as a trial lawyer for 15 years, handling both civil and criminal matters. 

He's a second-time candidate. Many lawyers lose their first race but go on to win in their second try. 

All three of these lawyers have done considerable pro bono work over the years. 

I by no means am trashing the other three candidates. I am merely saying who I like.