Sedgwick County Judgeships
2008-11-01 12:01:00
District Court Judge - Division 28
Answer: The Sedgwick County District Court is the state of Kansas court which handles all legal claims and criminal cases that are filed based upon the laws of the State of Kansas and are based upon events that occurred in Sedgwick County. A District Court Judge supervises both jury and judge trials to make sure trials and decisions are handled justly and fairly according to the law. In trials presented without a jury, the district court judge is the one who makes the decision applying the law to the facts presented in evidence. The types of cases cover a broad spectrum. The District Court decides most all legal cases based upon events that occurred in Sedgwick County concerning commission of a felony crime, divorce, paternity, child custody or child support disputes, auto accidents, malpractice and other personal injuries, landlord/tenant disputes, breach of contract, other civil wrongs, probate and estate division cases, adoptions, juvenile offenses and child in need of care cases. The Sedgwick County District Court also handles all traffic matters that occur within the county, but not inside a city’s limits. This list covers most, but not all cases.
Question: I understand you are running for District Court – Division 28, how can I as a voter know whether I am in your division?
Answer: The Divisions are not geographical. The Divisions are simply position numbers. Every voter in Sedgwick County can vote for one judge for every Division. So, if you are a registered voter in Sedgwick County, you can vote for me.
Question: What are the requirements for being a District Judge?
Answer: The technical requirements to be a Sedgwick County District Court Judge are to be at least thirty years old, be an attorney licensed to practice law in Kansas and to be a resident of Sedgwick County while serving as Judge.
Question: So, you are an attorney and you live in Sedgwick County?
Answer: Yes. I am 52 years old. I obtained my license to practice law in 1980 after graduation from Washburn School of Law in Topeka. And except for time in college and law school, I have always lived in Sedgwick County. But beyond the technical requirements there are other qualifications that most voters will be concerned about – particularly: courtroom experience and respected character. Because a judge oversees the process of lawsuits from the time a case is filed through the trial and decision, it makes sense that judges should have personal experience being in the courtroom from their career prior to becoming a judge. Character is important because the manner in which a judge handles cases in court requires fair treatments of all persons – the parties, the witnesses, the jury, the attorneys and court personnel who are all involved in what are often high conflict battles. To maintain respect for our courts and the legal system, judges need to have a balance of patience and integrity and a capacity for stern judgment, fairness and at times mercy, depending on the facts of a case and the application of law.
Question: What legal experience do you have for being a judge?
Answer: I have been practicing law for 28 years in Sedgwick County and my practice has been litigation oriented requiring me to be in the courtroom every week. I have tried cases in every department of the Sedgwick County courts – criminal, family, civil, juvenile, probate and traffic. And I have handled or tried cases in district courts in at least ten other counties around Kansas. I also served for 20 years from 1985-2005 as a volunteer investigating ethics complaints filed against attorneys. I care that the whole legal process be untainted, trustworthy and respected by the public. In the past year, I started serving an appointment to the Kansas Supreme Court study committee on Self-Represented Litigants. This committee is evaluating what courts can do to balance sometimes competing interests of litigants, attorneys and judges. Our courts must be accessible to all, should encourage case presentation that is most effective for the parties and must provide for efficient use of the court’s time and resources.
Question: Do you have other community experience beyond your legal practice?
Answer: I have been a member of the Christian Legal Society (CLS) for 28 years and am a past president of the local chapter. The significant work of the local chapter is to provide free legal consultations in some of the poorer sections of Wichita in conjunction with the Salvation Army, World Impact Village and Hilltop Urban Church. I helped found that service and have participated almost monthly since its inception. I am also a past Elder at First Evangelical Free Church and volunteered there for 9 years in weekly youth ministry with junior and senior high students.
Question: I have heard some people complain about “activist judges”. What is that complaint?
Answer: Both the U.S. and Kansas Constitutions designed our federal and state governments to have three branches. The Legislative Branch (representatives and senators) has the responsibility of writing the law. The Executive Branch (Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State and their subordinates) is charged with enforcing the laws of the state. The Judicial Branch (appeals justices, district court judges and the courts) is entrusted with the responsibility of applying the law to the facts of a situation, which facts are often in dispute. Those complaining believe that some judges have by their “decisions” strayed from interpreting or applying the law to take on the role of also writing or rewriting new law. In a nutshell they are claiming that some judges have become one person legislatures – making new laws.
Question: What do you think of that?
Answer: I believe that judges should not be activists, but should apply the law according to its original intent when it was created by the legislature. It is a prime responsibility of judges to be students of the law to understand the language of the laws well and to seek to apply the law to conform to the purpose and intent of the legislature when they wrote the law. Judges should make their decisions based first upon the facts of the case and should follow the law regardless of their personal opinion about whether the law is good or bad or should be changed. That being said, there are some areas of the law that leave a great amount of discretion to the court in making a judgment call as to the best course for a decision within the bounds of the law. Within that realm of discretionary decision making every judge is affected at least in part by the personal experience and values which they personally hold. That is why the character and values that a judge brings to the courtroom are important.
Question: How have your values been developed?
Answer: I was raised in southwest Wichita by a father and mother who both grew up on farms. I was taught the value of hard work by their examples. My father worked 41 years for one of Wichita’s aircraft manufacturers in test engineering. My mother taught school for two years before devoting herself to raising three children and maintaining our family and home on a limited budget. Their examples also taught me to seek quality in all I do and to treat all people with respect. My parents also gave high priority to their faith in Christ – a faith which I personally adopted as my own as a young boy. So throughout my life, I have also sought to be a student of the Bible. That is the major source for my personal values. It teaches me: that all human life and every person is to be valued, that wrong conduct should be judged and that because all of us commit wrong, we must balance judgment at times with mercy and grace. Because Jesus claimed to die for all mankind, that act teaches me that I should value every man, woman and child. My personal faith is not something that I can impose on any one else. But it teaches me to love God, to seek excellence, to strive for personal integrity and to treat every person with value and respect.
Question: If someone wanted to get more information about you or help with your campaign, how could they do that?
Answer: I have a website in development at www.CommerForJudge.com or I can be reached by phone through 263-3154 or by email at CommerJudge28@cox.net.
