Civil Court Choices
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There are 15 New York City Civil Court seats up for election in November. Yet only five are being contested in next week’s Democratic primary — which means that many of the others will owe their jobs to party bosses who largely control who gets on the ballot. Unlike some elections in the past, this year’s group of primary candidates is low on hacks. But that does not justify a judge-picking system that markets candidates for the bench as though they were aldermen. New York badly needs a system of merit selection run by accredited professional panels. Meanwhile, these are our recommendations in the five contests. Brooklyn, Fifth Municipal Court District (all or part of Borough Park, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, Kensington, Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace): Two candidates — the Civil Court law secretaries Mathew D’Emic and David Schmidt — show promise for the bench. The third candidate, Arthur Schack, a counsel to the Major League Players Association, lacks litigation experience and knowledge about the important post he seeks. We prefer Mr. Schmidt for his judicial temperament, his sense of fairness and his obvious passion for justice. More : query.nytimes.com |