Count me firmly among the "let's elect 'em" group; however, I'm not blind to the fact that the electorate doesn't always know -- or care -- about what it's voting for ...


What does the district attorney do?

By Steven Kreytak | Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Austin American-Statesman

A completely unscientific poll of South Austin voters today shows that Travis County's top prosecutor may be chosen by chance.

Out of about 20 Democratic voters interviewed at the South Austin Recreation Center and Becker Elementary School this afternoon, only a few could say who they chose for Travis County District Attorney and why.

Most leaving the polls said they don't know who they chose. One man said he doesn't know what the district attorney does. (The district attorney's office prosecutes major crime such as murder and robbery, represents the Department of Family and Protective Services in civil suits affecting parental rights and investigates state officials charged with wrongdoing.)

One man said he doesn't vote for district attorney "because they usually end up on the wrong side of the courtroom from me."

One woman said she couldn't say whom she picked, and then offered that she likely voted for the woman in the race. When told that prosecutors Rosemary Lehmberg and Mindy Montford were running, she shrugged her shoulders and walked off.

Only three people -- all women -- could say who they voted for and why.

For the rest of the article, click here: http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/election/entries/2008/03/04/what_does_the_district_attorney_do.html

(note: this is not meant to start a conversation about this particular race; please don't treat it as such. thanks.)

OK, now maybe I'm starting to have second thoughts ...


Hidalgo County voters re-elect felon as constable
Associated Press
March 5, 2008

ELSA, Texas � Walo Bazan may be a felon, but that didn't stop Hidalgo County's incumbent Precinct 5 constable from winning the Democratic primary Tuesday.

With no Republican challenger, the five-term incumbent is set to be re-elected. He'll take office with a felony record, no license and a legal restriction barring him from carrying a weapon, The Monitor reported.

His Democratic opponents, Mario Leal and Juan Diaz Aleman, conceded as election returns came in Tuesday night.

"If that's what the people want, then that's fine," Leal told the newspaper. "I'm not disappointed."

For the rest of the story, click here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5593595.html

I came across this program developed in response to complaints by the Virginia Assembly that they did not have any objective data to utilize in making re-appointment decisions.

Virginia State Bar

Federal judge under investigation as a john in prostitution sting. Not the first personal pecadillo of this prominent individual either.

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=87702

JAS

I was impressed with most of the magistrates I met while I was a public prosecutor in Zimbabwe. I was there right after Britain gave Rhodesia independence, and most of the magistrates started their careers while the place was still Rhodesia.

To become a magistrate, one had to pass a civil service exam, and be accepted into the magistrate's service. A new magistrate sat with an experienced magistrate for a few months, and was tutored by him in all the ends-and-outs of judging cases. Then he sat with a 2nd experienced magistrate, to get a different view.

Thereafter, he was given a minor court, in one of the 2 cities, Salisbury and Bulawayo. All the courts were in one bldg., and he was encouraged to consult with more senior magistrates when he had a problem.

When he got into a more important court, there was an effort to pair a green magistrate with an experienced prosecutor (and vice versa for prosecutors). Eventually he would receive postings in smaller towns, where he had to function more independently. If he did good work, he would move up to the next higher court, which heard what we would call serious felonies. And from there he might go to a appellate function, altho most stayed at the trial level.

If he did poorly, I gathered he was almost never fired. But he'd find himself doing "remand court" duty (just resetting cases for 2 weeks at a time), or he'd be sent to some place like Gokwe, or some other dull hell hole. The hope was he'd eventually quit.

There were no prima donnas, that I knew of, nor did I ever hear of any magistrate suffering from judgitis disease. Their work was always being judged by their superiors, and they had to have reasons for either finding a man guilty or finding him innocent. Misbehaving in court would have a very quick and negative effect on one's career, so as a rule magistrates were hard working, well meaning public servants.

In Korea, many judges never practiced as attorneys prior to taking the bench. They instead took a 2-year curriculum in training to become a judge. Many become practicing lawyers later in their careers.

Another interesting note: Korea just had its first criminal JURY trial in February. Until then, all trials were before panels of 1-3 judges. They jury is still advisory-only, even as to the issue of guilt, and is only available for certain offenses.

web page