Contents:

• Judge Roundup

JUDGE ROUNDUP
Every election, folks ask us which judges to vote for.  While various laws and rules prevent us from advising you on who to vote for, we certainly can tell you about our experiences with the judges.  The rest is up to you.

State Supreme Court (Associate Justice)
Alan C. Page, Incumbent
Tim Tinglestad
Justice Alan Page has served an important role on the State Supreme Court Racial Bias Task Force.  He is on the Implementation Committee, which is working hard to get at the causes of racial bias in the judicial system and change them.  We've testified before him on our observations as court watchers.

On the other hand, Tim Tinglestad would likely bring a disturbing form of right-wing judicial activism to the bench, as indicated by his answers in a Minnesota Lawyer article (see http://www.minnlawyer.com/elections/2004/tingelstad.cfm)

Why should voters select you rather than your opponent in the upcoming election?
Tinglestad:  Every Supreme Court Justice carries a worldview that will greatly affect the decisions they make. I share the worldview of our founding fathers, who believed in God, and the Truth of His Word, and who understood that God's Truth is the foundation upon which our Constitutions were built. It is critical that this worldview be present on our highest Court as it faces issues that will define our families, our educational system, and our religious freedoms for generations to come.

What are the major issues facing the court on which you wish to serve? How can these realistically be addressed?
Tinglestad:  The State Supreme Court will face many important issues in the upcoming years, however, the issue that is of greatest concerned to me is the direction our courts are taking us in the area of "separation of church and state." I believe that the original intent of the State and Federal Constitutions has been ignored and that we are moving in a direction where the religion of nonbelief is now preferred over religion based upon a belief in God, and the Truth of His Word. For more detail please go to "HighestHill.com.".

Hennepin County Judges
This election, only three seats are contested.

District Court Judge: Seat 1
Candidate:  Thor Anderson - incumbent
Candidate:  Julie Delgado-O'Neil
We haven't had direct experience with Thor Anderson but attorneys we polled indicated that Anderson is fair and would be the better choice.

District Court Judge: Seat 18
Candidate:  Stephen Allan Baker
Candidate:  Susan N. Burke
According to our good friends with Minnesotans Against the Death Penalty, Stephen Baker testified before the legislature IN FAVOR OF THE DEATH PENALTY.  He is also anti-choice.

District Court Judge: Seat 27
Candidate:  LaJune Thomas Lange - incumbent
Candidate:  Kevin J. Kolosky
Judge LaJune Lange is an African American woman who is well-known for fairness and taking on tough cases.

The rest of the judges are running unopposed.  We're no experts on electoral rules so we don't know what would happen if any of these folks didn't get a lot of votes.  At least it would show they didn't have a mandate.  We also understand that you can write in other candidates and maybe folks will want to go that route (i.e. write in Philander Jenkins next to Regina Chu or Katherian Roe, for example). 

Here's a rundown of our experiences with a few of the candidates:

Chu, Regina: During a hearing for Philander Jenkins, Judge Chu attempted to block him from hiring the lawyer of his choice.  When Philander bravely asserted his rights, she gave him an hour to make calls and find another attorney (ridiculous, considering he was in jail and had no access to a phone).  His mother arranged to hire Jill Clark and Judge Chu then gave Ms. Clark only one week to prepare for trial in a highly detailed case with many witnesses.  The whole time, Judge Chu carried on that a jury was waiting in the hallway to hear the case, as if the jury's schedule is more important than the right of a defendant to have representation of their choosing and have their legal representative be up to speed on the case.

Roe, Katherian D.: She initially ruled in favor of allowing Philander Jenkins to have an independent medical examination after he was sexually assaulted in jail but after sheriff's deputies removed Philander from the medical facility 5 minutes before the doctor was due to see him, she refused to reissue the order, thus denying him needed medical care and allowing crucial medical evidence to be lost.

Wernick, Mark S.: Has a good history of being a people's lawyer and defending political activists before he became a judge.  Not so good after he became a judge.

For more information on judge candidates as well as your polling place and the full ballot for your area, go to http://www.sos.state.mn.us/