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Judge hopefuls make their cases |
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Monday, 19 May 2008 |
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By Mike Gervais
Register Staff 5-17-2008
Candidates running for Superior Court Judge in next month’s local elections had their final opportunity to gather for a forum earlier this week.
The hopefuls concluded their series of forums at the Bishop Senior Center on Tuesday, where a nearly packed house listened as they answered questions from both the League of Women Voters and spectators from the audience.
The forum kicked off with all three candidates taking a three-minute block to introduce themselves and give audience members an insight into their background.
From there the candidates answered three prepared questions from the League of Women Voters. Those same three questions were issued to the candidates during forums in Lone Pine and Big Pine.
The second part of the forum gave audience members the chance to ask questions of one or all of the candidates.
The candidates for judge received so many questions from audience members that time ran out on the forum and many of the queries were not addressed in public, although each of the hopefuls stayed late to field questions from residents after the conclusion of the meeting.
One of the more provocative questions asked of the candidates on Tuesday was a request for each to outline their own strengths and weaknesses.
Incumbent Brian Lamb was the first to take the podium for that question.
“Being a judge makes you take stock of your strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “I really enjoy the intellectual challenges” of the job.
Lamb also said that one of his strengths is the diversity of cases he can take on.
“In larger counties, a judge can focus on one area of law, but I’m doing all kinds of different cases,” Lamb said.
Candidate Mark Johnson, current assistant district attorney, said that it is naturally easier for an individual to point out their strengths than their weaknesses.
“I think I have life experience that is invaluable. I have a willingness and ability to evaluate the situation and take control – the ability to be decisive and make decisions,” he said.
As to the other part of the question, Johnson said he is often seen as “the grumpy guy.”
Johnson said that he may have this stigma attached to him because of his focus and determination. “I am very focused on what I do,” he said.
When candidate Tom Hardy, a private attorney and former assistant D.A., took the podium he urged spectators to contact individuals who are familiar with his work in the court systems and ask their opinions about his strengths and weaknesses.
“I have an appreciation and a grasp of the law,” Hardy said. “I like people and I care what happens to them, and I like the law.”
For his weaknesses, Hardy pointed out a couple of clerks in the Bishop Courthouse and asked residents to speak to his peers and coworkers for a fair and honest appraisal of his work.
The next question issued to the candidates asked what techniques they possess to help them distinguish the truth from lies while on the bench.
According to Johnson, “you can’t single out mannerisms” in people to determine if they are telling the truth or not.
“As a criminal prosecutor, you see lots of liars, it’s the nature of the business,” he said, adding that he has learned “to look for inconsistencies in stories.”
Johnson also said it is helpful to have “good attorneys who can determine inconsistencies” in witness’ testimonies, and bring them to light.
“There is no silver bullet or magic wand that can tell you if someone is telling the truth,” Hardy said. “Unfortunately, law is not rocket science, you can’t program information and hope the right answer comes out,” he added.
“We’ve all talked to people and knew they were lying. You have to listen to a person’s answers” carefully and make a judgment, he said. “I will do my best to apply my skills,” he said.
Judge Lamb said that discerning the truth in court “is one of the toughest jobs about being a judge.
“They don’t teach you in school how to tell if someone is telling the truth.”
Lamb said that in his experience, “if you let someone tell their story at length, uninterrupted, sometimes they will reveal themselves.”
He added that the courtroom setting can make witnesses nervous, and that sometimes liars are more consistent with their stories because they are conscious of the lie and attempting to sound sincere. “Inconsistencies don’t mean lies,” he said.
Finding the truth in court “is a constant problem, you have to be patient and listen,” he said.
The final question that was issued to all three candidates was if they agree with the theory of “Original Intent” or if they feel that as a judge they have the ability to render decisions based on their interpretation of the law.
Hardy was the first to take up the question.
“A superior court is a trial court, it exists to apply the law. It is not our job to try to guess what the law is or make it what you want it to be,” he said.
Hardy added that it is the duty of a superior court judge to know the law, and if questions come up about the law, to research it.
“You take the law and you apply it,” he said.
Lamb said that it is very important for a judge to recognize the steps of power in the judicial system.
“It is not always clear how a law applies” and a judge must interpret the intentions of the legislators who wrote the law.
According to Johnson, “the job of a trial judge is to apply the law as it is written, but in many ways the legislation does a really bad job” and the laws are not always cut and dry, black and white.
Johnson said that a local judge who is questioning the intent of a law can refer to Superior Court cases, where judges have ruled on what the intent of a law is.
But, he said, sometimes a judge may come across a law that has never been defined by another court.
In these cases, “I will do my best to be fair and interpret it as the drafters intended,” he said.
There was one question on Tuesday directed specifically to Judge Lamb.
One audience member asked Lamb what he has accomplished to make a difference in Inyo County’s courts and what his plans are for the future.
“The first thing I tried to do was learn the job and do the best I can,” he said.
Lamb also said he has been appointed to a state committee working with other judges statewide.
But locally, Judge Lamb said he has been fundamental in helping improve Inyo County’s self-help program for residents who wish to represent themselves in court.
Lamb also said that he has been working towards “bringing our courts to the 20th century, let alone the 21st century,” by implementing the use of computers and electronic records.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 25 June 2008 )
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