And now for something completely different

It's March 1, 2011, and I am pleased to announce my Independent candidacy for Justice Court Judge in Forrest County's First Justice Court District.  This District stretches across the western portion of Forrest County, and includes 19th Avenue west to the Lamar County line, Dixie, Brooklyn, and Elks Lake, down to the Stone County line.

I'm running as an Independent because we don't need our judicial process tainted by partisan politics.  Did you know that our Justice Court judges are the only judges in the state elected by a partisan process?  The reason for this is that Justice Court judges are not considered judicial officers under state law!  I can tell you that my clients are shocked to learn this; a DUI trial in justice court, or a small-claims suit in justice court, feels plenty judicial to us!

If you paid attention to the Chicago mayoral election, you saw the poisonous danger of partisan judicial elections.  The Christian Science Monitor details the Illinois partisan judicial selection process, and talks about its impact on the mayoral election.  Our judicial elections for Circuit, Chancery, County, Court of Appeals, and Supreme Court judges are non-partisan for a very good reason: we don't want political party leadership telling us who will be our judges.

Join me in my quest to continue the fine tradition of service in our Justice Courts, and help break the partisan stranglehold on justice court.