An Open Letter to out Clients, Colleagues, Family, and Friends:
We work daily and diligently ‘in the trenches’ of our civil justice system to ensure fairness for our clients.
And around election time, we get calls and emails from clients, colleagues, family, and friends asking for our input on election races in November. With ballots now getting mailed, we wanted to take a minute to discuss a few important contests on the ballot that will affect the legal system and all consumers and citizens in our state.
Election statistics show that about 20% of voters skip the judicial races on their ballots. As attorneys that work with our court systems throughout the state, we know firsthand that it is critical to have the best and brightest men and women leading our judicial system.
The glue that holds our society together is the rule of law. For that glue to bind us effectively an independent judiciary must be in place composed of highly qualified justices who thoughtfully and fairly determine cases before them based on the facts and the law, rather than personal bias or an ideological agenda. That is why we are writing with our carefully considered recommendations for some candidates who deserve your vote.
Of course, please also feel free to get additional information on these candidates from your voter’s pamphlet. But most importantly, make sure you vote and fill in your ballot all the way down! Make your vote count.
Here are our unanimous recommendations for judicial races for the three (3) Supreme Court contested races. We support:
Supreme Court Position #1 – Justice Mary Yu. Justice Yu is a distinguished jurist, former prosecutor, and former social justice organizer, who is unique among all candidates for having received the highest possible rating from every peer and legal group, judge of the year from every major bar organization that gives such an award, and also received a public official of the year award from the Municipal League.
Supreme Court Position #5 – Justice Barbara Madsen. As a distinguished Chief Justice, chosen for this role by her colleagues on the court, Barbara is the leader of a court we can be proud of- rated by conservative and liberal legal scholars alike as among the top three state courts in our nation.
Supreme Court Position #6 – Justice Charlie Wiggins. Justice Wiggins is a recognized national leader on the issue of judicial ethics, has extremely high ratings from all the Bar groups, and has been the most prolific writer and workhorse on our court during his term. He is perhaps the most experienced appellate lawyer on the bench, a stark contrast to an opponent with very little appellate experience.
Supreme Court Justices are positions that are non-partisan so that they can be independent arbiters applying the law and the facts in each case in the best interests of all of us. These justices do an admirable job at that and we recommend you vote for them in November.
Feel free to share this with family and friends. Regardless of your views on these races, please vote by November 8th. It is important to have your voice heard in our electoral process.
Thank you for your consideration and for participating in our democratic process.
