Governor’s Council, lack of experience an issue for nominees.

Lack of experience is an issue for many nominees for the bench.

This is a comment I often hear from the people of District Two

When you consider a court such as the District Court or the Superior Court where the issues brought before it are so varied, it may be hard to imagine how anyone could have experience in all those matters.  Criminal cases, civil cases, drugs, violence, financial disputes, the list goes on. 

When speaking to the residents of District Two I have been impressed with the number of people that tell me that they do have the experience that is sought.  Furthermore they have also expressed an interest in becoming a judge.

Given the quality of the people that I have met in District Two I have to wonder why so many nominees that receive a nomination appear to lack the experience desired.

In criminal matters many nominees have only seen one side of that issue, either solely the prosecution or solely the defense.  Furthermore as attorneys move up in the public sector they tend to focus on a specific issue rather than working with several different issues.   They may focus on drug crimes, sexual crimes, violence crimes, etc.  So their experience is limited not only to the side they represent but also the types of cases they have experience with.

Seeing a nominee with a wide breadth of experience is rare, even though there are plenty of people with exactly these professional experiences.

When I speak with people of District Two that have the experience to be a good judge I am always disappointed to hear their reluctance to apply for a position.  They always cite the view that in order to become a judge you have to already work for the state or donate money to the right people.

I always try to dispel l people of this rather negative notion, but it is hard to do when about 75% of the nominees are already employed by the state.

Unfortunately even when a nominee lacks the well rounded experience that should be expected, there are claims that they are none-the-less well qualified.

If there is anything you would like to know about the Council please feel free to contact me at

patrickmccabegovernorscouncil@gmail.com

To learn more about the council and what it is currently doing please check out my site

patrickmccabegovernorscouncil.com

Patrick McCabe

Candidate for Governor's Council District Two

Primary Thursday September 6, 2012