Election Results are In – There’s a New Judge in Town
Typically I don’t care too much about politics. Not in the sense that I’d give money to someone or go out knocking on doors for someone or anything like that. But I like to know who I’m voting for, and I like to know what people stand for. One thing I don’t like about the political season, though, is the way the press tries to twist facts to make them sound more incredible than they are. And I saw a perfect example of this in the election for Seattle Municipal Court judge.
Before I show you the article I’ll break down the truth for you. There was a judge on the bench in Seattle Municipal Court by the name of Edsonya Charles. Truth be told, no one liked her. Criminal defense attorneys didn’t like her, prosecutors didn’t like her, no one liked her. It had a lot to do with both her demeanor and her courtroom decision making. So, when a credible challenger came up, both sides backed him.
Is that what you hear in the newspapers? Of course not. Here was an article from the Seattle PI from yesterday:
Candidate backed by DUI Lawyers Ousts Seattle JudgeProsecutor Ed McKenna soundly defeated incumbent Seattle Municipal Court Judge Edsonya Charles in a race marked by testy exchanged that are unusual in judicial contests.
In early returns, McKenna was beating Charles nearly 70 percent to 30 percent.
A political committee funded by DUI attorneys said it would spend $74,000 on a direct mail campaign to support McKenna.
Charles’ supporters had alleged that McKenna’s campaign illegally coordinated with DUI group, Citizens for Judicial Ethics. A complaint against McKenna has been filed with the state elections watchdog. Both McKenna and the political action committee deny the charges. Charles’ supporters have also said she was targeted because she wouldn’t let private attorneys jump the schedule and go before public defenders in DUI cases. McKenna, in turn, filed the complaint that was upheld the county bar association about Charles, saying she and her supporters have violated rules by talking about issues other than the candidates’ judicial attributes.McKenna, a longtime prosecutor, was been rated “very good” by the Municipal League of King County. Charles was rated “adequate.” She was also rated last in a recent survey of attorneys by the county bar association. McKenna has been rated “exceptionally well qualified” by the King County Bar Association. The same group rated Charles as “qualified.”
Did you see the title of the article? If you actually read the article the title is clearly designed to inflame readers and get them to check out the story. The fact of the matter is not only were “DUI attorneys” against her, everyone was against her. Ask almost any prosecutor and they’d tell you they weren’t a fan. Ask any Seattle criminal lawyer and they’d tell you they weren’t a fan. But I guess the truth doesn’t sell papers.
