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From Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, Shira J. Goodman, Associate Director
100 N. 17th Street, Suite 700
Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-569-1150
goodman@pmconline.org
www.pmconline.org
Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts suggests questions for judicial candidates
As Pennsylvania prepares for the upcoming judicial elections, citizens throughout the Commonwealth will rely at least in part on newspaper coverage and endorsements of various candidates. Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts (PMC) urges you to take full advantage of the access you have to the candidates to maximize the opportunity for the voters to have relevant, meaningful information as they seek to make informed decisions about the judicial candidates.
We know your space is limited and that local judicial races are not the audience-draw they should be. But by your coverage of these races and the candidates, you can help change that. Rather than focus on candidates' personal opinions about select issues that potentially could come before the would-be judges during later service on the bench, the public would be better served if candidates were questioned about matters relevant to service on the bench: experience, temperament, knowledge, commitment to equal justice and equal access to justice and independence.
PMC encourages you to pose the following types of questions to judicial candidates:
Questions about the Role of a Judge
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Define the role of a judge in our justice system. |
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What are the attributes of a good judge? |
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What are the responsibilities of a judge presiding over a criminal jury trial? A civil jury trial? Nonjury trials? |
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How do we as a society uphold the guarantee that everyone is equal before the law? How do you plan to fulfill that guarantee? What in your background demonstrates that you will do so? |
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How would your personal views inform your work as a judge? |
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Will becoming a judge affect your involvement in any social or charitable organizations with which you are affiliated? Why or why not? If so, how? |
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What about your role in political organizations or politics? |
Qualifications for Service
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What experience prepares you for serving as a judge? |
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How long have you been practicing law? |
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Describe the nature of your practice. |
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Have you tried cases before juries? Civil, criminal, how many? |
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Have you tried non-jury cases? |
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Do you have an area of expertise? |
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Have you published scholarly works? |
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What factors other than your education have been significant in your professional development? |
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Have you participated as an instructor in continuing legal education? |
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Have you participated in bar association activities? |
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Do you plan to continue participating in bar activities if elected? |
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Describe your present and past community activities. How would they influence the kind of judge you would be? |
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Why do you want to be a judge? |
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Why do you believe you would be a good judge? |
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Have you ever been disciplined by the Supreme Court or had a complaint of unethical conduct made against you? |
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What would your colleagues say about you if asked? |
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What would your clients say? |
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Describe the categories or types of clients you generally serve in your practice. |
The Administration of Justice
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What are the most pressing needs of reform in our justice system? |
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What role can an individual judge play in improving the administration of justice? |
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How do you plan to become involved in those efforts if elected? |
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Do you have a position on the adequacy of the funding of our state courts? |
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What are the areas in most need of increased funding? |
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Given an unlimited budget, what would you first improve about the court to which you are seeking election? |
The Independence of the Judiciary
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What does this phrase mean? Independence from whom or what? |
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How does/should an individual judge maintain his/her independence? |
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What role do individual judges have in protecting the independence of the judiciary as a whole? |
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Under what circumstances could you envision finding it necessary to recuse? |
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Would the fact that a campaign contributor was involved in litigation as a party or attorney affect your impartiality? Would it be grounds for recusal? |
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How would your past or current membership in a group or organization with an interest in the subject of the litigation (even if not involved as a party) affect your ability to impartially preside? |
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Would you consider recusal appropriate in a case if you had spoken out about the subject matter of the litigation during the election? In your prior experiences? |
The Jury System
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What factors would you use to evaluate Pennsylvania's jury system? Using those factors, how would you rate Pennsylvania's jury system? |
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What are the greatest challenges to the success of Pennsylvania's jury system? |
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How would you recommend juror turnout be improved? |
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How would you recommend increasing the diversity of juries? |
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Do you support efforts to get the jury more involved in the trial, such as notetaking or questioning of witnesses? How would you go about introducing such things into the Pennsylvania system? |
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Have you ever served on a jury? Describe the experience. |
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Have you ever advised friends or clients about how to get out of jury duty? |
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Have you encouraged people to serve when summoned? |
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What would you as a judge do to encourage service? |
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What do you think about jury nullification, or a jury's deliberately delivering verdicts that are contrary to the court's instructions on the law? |
Fairness in the Courts/Equal Access to the Courts
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Do you believe that bias infects our justice system in any way? |
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Describe your knowledge of the report of the Supreme Court's Committee on Race and Gender Bias in the Justice System. |
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Do you plan to become involved in this work? How so? |
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How will you work as a judge to eliminate bias from your courtroom? From the justice system generally? |
Judicial Education
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Do you believe judges should be required to have ongoing education? |
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What topics should be included in such education? |
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Who should be teaching these courses? |
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What education would you want before assuming the bench? |
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If elected, will you attend any preparatory classes? Describe. |
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Should judges be required to have ongoing ethics education as attorneys are? |
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Do you plan to participate in education courses for lawyers while on the bench? |
Judicial Discipline
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How do you propose preparing our judges for service and ensuring that ethical lapses will be reduced if not eliminated? |
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How can citizens be made more knowledgeable about the standards of proper judicial conduct and the means for redressing perceived lapses? |
Judicial Selection
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Do you believe partisan elections are an appropriate way to select judges? |
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Do you believe there is any problem with judicial candidates being required to raise funds to support their efforts to become elected? |
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Should there be more stringent limits on contributions to judicial candidates? |
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Should there be ethical rules governing recusal in the event that litigants or their attorneys made campaign contributions to the judge? |
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Is there a better way to select our judges? |
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Do you have an opinion about moving to a merit selection system? |
For more information, please contact PMC at 215-569-1150 or staff@pmconline.org.
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